According to the Anatolia news agency, one of the participants of the youth camp, titled “Stars of the Future,” was hospitalized with a high fever last week and diagnosed with swine flu. Upon being informed of the case, the Bursa Provincial Health Directorate examined all students and teachers at the camp, resulting in five more cases being diagnosed on Wednesday.
Noting that a number of camps are organized on Uludağ every year, Bursa Governor Şahabettin Harput said on Friday that the student diagnosed with swine flu had come from abroad. “Other participants have also been examined. Four students and a teacher were also found to be carrying the swine flu virus. They received the necessary treatment and are in good condition now. The camp concluded on Thursday. We hope this incident will end without further infections,” he added.
The Ministry of Health released a statement on Thursday to address the matter, announcing that they had taken all necessary precautions upon being informed of the cases. The statement noted that the ministry has since the discovery of the first case been in contact with the camp staff and all 400 participants.
The H1N1 virus was first discovered and began to spread in April. Turkey, following the World Health Organization's (WHO) suggested preventative measures, installed 10 thermal cameras at various airports. It identified its first two swine flu cases in May in a family traveling to Iraq from the United States. Thermal imaging cameras at the İstanbul Atatürk Airport detected that two of the family members had high fevers. They were put under observation at Haseki Hospital and released from the hospital one week later, after their condition returned to normal. Human-to-human transmission of swine flu was for the first time confirmed in June. Thirty-four cases of swine flu were diagnosed in Turkey in the first week of June alone. So far, there have been no known swine flu deaths in Turkey, where a total of 156 swine flu cases had been reported as of July 27.
