Illness among children attending US summer camps, 2006-07

Eleven million United States children attend summer camp yearly. Although summer camps stimulate social and physical growth, illnesses can negatively affect the camper's experience. The ongoing Healthy Camp Study, the largest camp health study to date, collected exposure and illness-related data during summers 2006-2007 via RIO^TM (Reporting Information Online). Campers at participating camps sustained 1,526 illnesses during 1,813,620 camp-days (8.41 illnesses per 10,000 camp-days). Camper illness rates were higher at resident camps compared to day camps (RR=1.63, 95% CI: 1.43-1.87). Illnesses were accompanied most frequently by fever (33.3%), headache (25.5%), nausea (24.1%), and sore throat (22.0%). Although 62.2% of campers returned to their normal camp routine within 24 hours of becoming ill, 11.9% left camp. Of all illnesses, 60.5% were non-communicable and 39.5% were communicable. Just over half of all communicable illnesses were spread to other individuals at camp (56.1%), while 43.9% were only reported in 1 camper. Compared to communicable illnesses that were not spread, communicable illnesses spread to others were more likely to be accompanied with diarrhea (IPR=1.69, 95% CI: 1.01-2.84) or stuffy nose (IPR=1.67, 95% CI: 1.12-2.48), and campers with these illnesses were less likely to leave camp after becoming ill (IPR=0.33, 95% CI: 0.20-0.56). Although prevention of all illness is an unrealistic goal, camps should be able to decrease communicable illness rates by implementing targeted interventions. Examples include encouraging frequent hand washing, educating campers on proper ways to sneeze and cough to minimize aerosol spread, and keeping ill and contagious campers apart from others when possible.