By Sean Hauser
s.hauser@krdo.com
Follow Me On Twitter @ http://twitter.com/SeanHauser

PUEBLO - Fourteen Boy Scouts from a local camp were taken to the hospital Tuesday night with what could be the H1N1 Flu.

The San Isabel Scout Ranch is off of Highway 165 in Rye, along the Pueblo and Custer County line.  NEWSCHANNEL 13 has learned that of the fourteen scouts taken to Parkview Medical Center for flu-like symptoms, five of them were tested for Influenza and one of them tested positive.  Health officials are undergoing further tests to find out if it is in fact H1N1.

Meanwhile, precautions are underway at the Boy Scout Ranch and those who are ill have been quarantined...a total of fourteen scouts and one staff member.

"We have sterilized everything in our camp, from the kitchen to the showers," said Rene Monarez, the Executive Director of the camp.  Monarez said this was an outbreak that the camp staff was completely trained in and prepared for.  "I am proud of my staff and the way that they have reacted to this current situation," he said at the Health Department Wednesday.

Both Monarez and the Health Department praised staff members for their quick response that may have stopped the entire camp from getting sick.

"We have been preparing for this influenza since the beginning of camp," explained Monarez.''

There are currently 258 campers and staff members at the San Isabel Boy Scout Ranch, but health officials don't believe any of them are in danger.

"There is no serious illness at the camp at this time," said Jennifer Ludwig with the Pueblo City and County Health Department.

Because of the low concern, the health department has advised camp leaders that it is okay to leave the camp open and it is not necessary for parents to come and pick their children up.

"From the direction of the State Health Department we have just quarantined those who have fallen ill," said Monarez.  "I believe that our camp staff has taken the proper precautions and have handled the situation properly in order to keep the camp open.  If we would have received direction to close down the camp, of course we would have done that," he said.

None of the campers currently at the Boy Scout Ranch are from Colorado.  Instead the troops are from Texas and Kansas.  NEWSCHANNEL 13 has learned that the boy who tested positive for Influenza is from Plano, Texas and is between the ages of 11-18.

According to Monarez, several of the 14 scouts that are ill drove from Texas to Colorado together.  Officials say that other than one staff member, no one else at the camp has reported feeling ill.

If you have plans for your child to attend the camp next week, Monarez says the remaining summer camp schedule will carry on as usual.