6 August 2008
The Importance of Cleanliness
Posted by admin under: camps; policies .
Another blogger has his child in Scouting. Jonathan Turley picked his son up from a Virginia camp where his Cub Scout survived whittling and an E Coli outbreak.
Goshen Scout Reservation is located near Lexington, Va. and health officials suspect foil-packaged meals that included ground beef and vegetables. These are cooked over fires but most be properly heated to be safe. Ten of the kids ranging in age from 10 to 16 required hospitalization. Two are in serious condition showing hemolytic uremic syndrome, when toxins from the bacteria enter the bloodstream.
One of the troubling things at Camp Whitsett last week was the lack of running water in some camp sites in order to wash hands before meals. Fortunately, the last thing you do just before you pick up your food is to use the camp dispenser of hand sanitizer. You might still be eating dirt from your hands, but at least it’s clean dirt.
Seriously though, the importance of keeping the kids clean at camp is a safety issue as Mr. Turley’s article demonstrates. In his case it appears to be a food preparation problem, but we’ve all seen our adorable ragamuffins line up with dirty paws. Don’t let them near the food without clean hands and don’t let them switch from raw meat to other things without rewashing their hands.
But how do you remember? Easy. You eat what they prepare. You find your memory is much sharper when it’s your digestive track on the line. Or you can skip eating altogether like some of the other dads in my troop.
Update: http://www.newsinferno.com/archives/3575
Alan Lambert, Scout Executive for the National Capital Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America has reported that beef at the Goshen Boy Scouts camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia has tested positive for E. coli and is the culprit in the recent E. coli outbreak that sickened at least 16 people.
Virginia Department of Health (VDH) reports that 67 people attending the camp complained of illnesses, including 16 confirmed cases of E. coli.
- Mom Sues E. Coli
- Scouts Help Prevent E. Coli Spread in Pembroke
- Goshen! Boy Scouts Abandon New Jamboree Site
- 2013 Jamboree in Danger
- Keep Your Germs to Yourself
3 Comments so far...
Walter Underwood Says:
6 August 2008 at 8:29 pm.
Hand sanitizer does not replace washing hands. The CDC says it is only effective if there is no visible dirt. Plus, it is a flammable liquid, so it isn’t a really good idea for all the Scouts to carry it. The effective alcohol sanitizers are over 60% alcohol, which burns rather well.
admin Says:
7 August 2008 at 1:30 pm.
I didn’t know that. Thanks, Walter. At least our Scouts aren’t generally carrying sanitizers. Camp Whitsett had a dispenser at the door right before you grab your food. Wouldn’t have helped with contaminated meat, though, unfortunately.
» Scouts Help Prevent E. Coli Spread in Pembroke Says:
12 August 2008 at 1:58 pm.
[...] said they’d hand out bottled water until the matter could be cleared up. Given that the Boy Scouts of America has been going through an E. Coli outbreak in their camp in Goshen, Virginia, it only made sense that the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts would be among those volunteering to hand [...]
