(McClatchy-Tribune Information Services) -- Scrapes and bruises aren't all that kids are getting at summer camp this year.

Swine flu is spreading through dozens of camps across the country, forcing some to shut down, delay openings or treat campers with antiviral drugs. It's something they haven't had to deal with previously, as seasonal flu has usually subsided by this time of year.

"It's kind of a wake-up call to be aware of this," said Ann Sheets, past president of the American Camp Association. "The thing that is saddest to us is, there are kids who look forward to camp for the whole year, and then they don't get to go."

Swine flu, now officially known as novel H1N1 influenza, appears to be here for the summer and should last until the seasonal flu season begins in the fall, said Dr. Daniel Jernigan, deputy director of the influenza division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Flu cases are popping up at scouting, religious and other camps across the country, including in Texas, North Carolina, New York and Georgia.

Campers and staff at Greene Family Camp near Waco, including many from the Dallas area, are taking Tamiflu to prevent the spread of the disease after one confirmed and four suspected swine flu cases. And the Muscular Dystrophy Association has canceled its remaining 47 camps across the country, including one for North Texas children. Flu cases have occurred among participants in previous MDA camps this year.

"We were completely shocked," said Kathy Spann, whose son Brian was to spend his sixth year with the MDA at Camp John Marc in Bosque County. "When I read the national stuff, I certainly understand it."

Brian, 14, said he is most disappointed for his 17-year-old friends, who would have been attending their final camp.

"One friend said she was disappointed because she would have tried harder to remember things last year," he said.

Nationally, some sessions of a Union for Reform Judaism camp in California were canceled after large numbers of staff and volunteers began to exhibit flulike symptoms. The Greene camp is another such facility.

Rabbi Elliott Kleinman, chief program officer for the Union for Reform Judaism, said Greene camp leaders, with guidance from the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District, are treating all 600 campers and staff with Tamiflu provided by the state.

Five ill students were sent home for a week, and the first one is to return to camp Wednesday. There have been no new illnesses reported there for two days, Kleinman said Monday.

Officials with another camp popular with Dallas residents, Camp Sabra in Missouri, decided Monday to close for a week. Jewish Community Center of St. Louis spokeswoman Margaret Schatz said she did not know how many of the 375 to 400 staff and campers were ill but said they were isolated from the rest of the campers.

"It was a very difficult decision," Schatz said. "Now, our main focus is on getting our campers home safe."

Others events have been affected as well. A choir mission trip from Plano's Grace Presbyterian Church was cut short this month after children got sick. All are now home and have recovered, a church spokesman said.

Sheets said her organization does not determine whether camps should offer refunds, and that each camp is different and would make that determination for itself.

Nearly all flu circulating in the United States is swine flu. While it is generally milder than regular seasonal flu, it is still contagious, and 87 of the 21,449 cases reported nationwide have been fatal.

"We get complacent about the flu," said Dr. Ira Nemeth, Dallas County's medical director for public health preparedness. "Flu isn't something to be taken lightly at all."

Advice to parents from both county health officials and federal ones is simple: If your child is sick, don't send him or her to camp, day care or a day recreation program.

Parents don't need to fret over whether their children will catch the flu, the experts say. But preparedness doesn't hurt.

"Speaking as a parent of a daughter headed to camp next week, you want to be engaged in knowing that your camp has a plan," said Joe Quimby, a CDC spokesman. "Are they going to be proactive about dealing with flu? We want kids to go and have an enjoyable summer."

The onus is especially on parents of sick children, health officials said.

"A lot of this still relies on the parents checking their kids before they send them out the door," Nemeth said.

He said he understood the strains that can put on families, especially those with two working parents, but said it was important to prevent the spread of disease.

Zachary Thompson, Dallas County's health director, said cases have been sporadic around the county but are continuing to appear. He encouraged recreation centers, day cares and day camps to report cases to county officials to assist in tracking the disease.

Thompson said he was not aware of cases that have been reported at recreation programs and camps in Dallas County.

"A lot of this is new to these camps," Thompson said. "This is going to be an unusual year as far as dealing with this H1N1. ... It's going to be a different flu season."

Copyright (C) 2009, The Dallas Morning News