Boys & Girls Club reopens in light of third swine flu case

A third case of swine flu has been confirmed at the Carson Valley Boys & Girls Club at Pau-Wa-Lu Middle School, but the youth organization will still reopen on Monday, officials said.

"There was another case, but it happened within the incubation period," said Diane McCoy, director of operations for the Boys & Girls Club of Western Nevada. "We are excited for the club to open again, and parents are thrilled."

On Friday, Gardnerville resident Tanya Wilson said the third infected child was her own 8-year-old daughter Hanna.

"She got sick last Thursday (July 23)," Wilson said. "The club had me come pick her up because she had a fever. At that point, they were handing out fliers that said they had one swine flu case confirmed. But the ER didn't think she had it, and sent us home. They thought she was just dehydrated.

"I didn't take her back to the club on Friday, and that's when they learned there was a second confirmed case and decided to close for a week. By Saturday, Hanna had a fever of 103 degrees. I took her back in."

Wilson said Hanna initially received two rapid swine flu tests: the first came back negative, and the second was inconclusive. A more thorough test was completed with a nose swab and sent to a laboratory.

"It takes five to 10 days for the results to come back," said Wilson.

She said she was notified of the positive test on July 30.

"By the time the confirmed test results came back, it was too late," she said. "They told us to treat it like a flu. In all fairness, it seemed like a normal flu. She had a fever for a couple of days, a cough and a sore throat; but I've honestly seen her sicker with other things."

Wilson said her daughter is back to being a normal kid, but won't be returning to the Boys & Girls Club this summer. Wilson is worried about a potential relapse; nonetheless, she advised other parents not to panic about the virus.

"No one needs to freak out about it," she said. "What I saw as a parent was pretty much like a normal flu. The more severe cases occur when there are underlying issues. I've seen Hanna way sicker with chicken pocks.

"Everyone was treating me like my child was going to die from it, but you really can't freak out. My advice is to use lots of liquid hand wash and to not get too worried about the swine flu."

For more information about the disease, visit www.flu.gov or www.health.nv.gov.