Norovirus closes Camp Glenburn for 2nd time this summer

Camp Glenburn on the Belleisle Bay has closed for a second time this summer after more campers were sent home Tuesday with norovirus.

The Saint John YMCA said the number of infected campers and staff members is now more than 150.

The camp will be closed for the week, and whether it reopens this month is uncertain.

Saint John YMCA CEO Shilo Boucher said a decision will be made this week about whether the camp will continue for the rest of the season.

"Maybe this just isn't our year, unfortunately, at camp," Boucher said. "It's heartbreaking for campers, for staff and for parents."

The camp sent a letter Tuesday to all 120 families, asking for pickup of campers as soon as possible. Activities will continue until all campers are gone, the letter said.

Fighting the virus

Public Health advised the closure of the camp to stop the spread of the virus, which first surfaced at the end of July, when 92 campers and counsellors developed diarrhea and vomiting. 

The camp was closed and scrubbed clean before it reopened last week, but 21 new campers were sick by Friday. 

"Public Health has confirmed that it wasn't on camp premises, that it was brought in," Boucher said.

"It's hard to tell with this type of virus because you could be a carrier and bring it in and parents have no idea."

Noroviruses spread through person to person contact, environmental contact and food and water. Drinking water at the camp was tested last week and results came back clear.

Dr. Cristin Muecke, deputy chief medical officer of health, said public health officials ruled out the likelihood of infection coming from the St. John River since the infected campers seemed to have little contact with the river water before falling ill.

Norovirus patients usually exhibit symptoms 12 to 48 hours after they are infected.

The Department of Health has recommended the camp hire a professional cleaning company to combat the virus.

One of the ways to confirm the presence of norovirus is with a stool sample.

Stool test kits were sent to the camp for nurses to use and also sent home with parents of sick children, encouraging them to collect sample and send them to a lab.

Despite the fact that no samples have been tested in a lab so far, Muecke said the department feels confident other indicators, such as the timeline between contact and showing symptoms, fit with norovirus.

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Muecke also said the high heat the province has been experiencing likely has nothing to do with the outbreak, but infected people should take extra caution not to get dehydrated.

People can help prevent the spread of the virus by washing hands and cleaning commonly touched surfaces regularly, as well as isolating those infected while they are sick and for at least 48 hours after they stop showing symptoms, since they can still be contagious.

"We do know that there has been some norovirus in the community, so it's not surprising that it's ended up at the camp," said Muecke.

Summertime sadness

Jackie McLean's 13-year-old son arrived Sunday and was sent home sick on Tuesday.

"I didn't have any major concerns sending [my son] to camp because I really felt they had done everything they could to sanitize the facilities," she said.

McLean said going to camp is the highlight of her son's summer. He's even gone with a broken arm and cast.

She believes the camp and the Department of Health did everything they could to keep the camp clean and said she's heard the virus has been spreading in the Saint John area.

"He loves Camp Glenburn, he loves the camp experience. He looks forward to it all year long. He will probably be extraordinarily disappointed to leave." 

The YMCA will be contacting families individually about refunds or registering for next year.

"We take any responsibility we can," Boucher said. "We hope they choose to come back next year but we will do whatever we can to meet the needs of parents and their wishes, because this is not their fault. This is just something that's happened."