By LINDA STEWART BALL
Associated Press Writer
DALLAS — Four American teens who went on a mission trip to Cambodia to help the needy, wound up needing help as they became the first cases of swine flu in that Southeast Asian country, officials with the youth ministry said Thursday.
Whether they contracted the new strain of influenza in the United States, on the plane or in Cambodia remains a mystery.
The teens came down with fever after arriving in Phnom Penh on June 18, according to a statement from Ron Luce, president of Teen Mania, the Christian youth organization based in Garden Valley in East Texas that sponsored the group.
The four were released from a Cambodian hospital Thursday but remain in isolation.
They were among 40 American students in Cambodia participating in a Teen Mania summer work project known as global expeditions.
They went to volunteer in orphanages, do home repairs and yard cleanup in slums but were soon sidelined by sickness.
The youths are from across the U.S.
Teen Mania said the stricken high school students were not from Texas, but declined to say where they were from. The World Health Organization and other health officials are monitoring their condition.
All 40 flew out of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on June 17.
Everyone in the group has been quarantined and expected to remain in a lodge in Phnom Penh for another three or four days, Luce said.
Organizers say the teens are anxious to get back to work. When not working on crafts for orphans or writing letters of encouragement to missionaries in Cambodia, Luce said they've passed the time singing, laughing and praying together as well as planning what they hope to do for the community once they're released.
Half the group is scheduled to return to the states July 7 while the rest will travel to Thailand to do more work projects there.
Teen Mania has about 700 students volunteering in service projects in 13 countries. This is the third time the organization has taken youths to Cambodia since its founding in 1987.
"This group raised money for months and months to go to Cambodia and serve the lord Jesus ... and they're stuck in a house in Cambodia," said Ed Hale of Escondido, Calif., whose nephew is one of their hosts in Cambodia. "They can't do what they were sent to do. It's a tragedy."
Whether they contracted the new strain of influenza in the United States, on the plane or in Cambodia remains a mystery.
The teens came down with fever after arriving in Phnom Penh on June 18, according to a statement from Ron Luce, president of Teen Mania, the Christian youth organization based in Garden Valley in East Texas that sponsored the group.
The four were released from a Cambodian hospital Thursday but remain in isolation.
They were among 40 American students in Cambodia participating in a Teen Mania summer work project known as global expeditions.
They went to volunteer in orphanages, do home repairs and yard cleanup in slums but were soon sidelined by sickness.
The youths are from across the U.S.
Teen Mania said the stricken high school students were not from Texas, but declined to say where they were from. The World Health Organization and other health officials are monitoring their condition.
All 40 flew out of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on June 17.
Everyone in the group has been quarantined and expected to remain in a lodge in Phnom Penh for another three or four days, Luce said.
Organizers say the teens are anxious to get back to work. When not working on crafts for orphans or writing letters of encouragement to missionaries in Cambodia, Luce said they've passed the time singing, laughing and praying together as well as planning what they hope to do for the community once they're released.
Half the group is scheduled to return to the states July 7 while the rest will travel to Thailand to do more work projects there.
Teen Mania has about 700 students volunteering in service projects in 13 countries. This is the third time the organization has taken youths to Cambodia since its founding in 1987.
"This group raised money for months and months to go to Cambodia and serve the lord Jesus ... and they're stuck in a house in Cambodia," said Ed Hale of Escondido, Calif., whose nephew is one of their hosts in Cambodia. "They can't do what they were sent to do. It's a tragedy."
5 comments:
These kids must be quarantined and examined to forestall further spread of the disease, and have the US airlines flown them back to the United States. And, rest assured, draconian measures will be adopted to ensure the country is free from swine flu.
PPU
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អាខ្ញុំកញ្ជះដាច់ថ្លៃ បាតជើង យួន សាច់ងាប់ (dead meat) ភីភីយូ (PPU) នឹងបានត្រូវ អាស្រកីយួន សំឡេះចោល ក្នុងពេលឆាប់ៗនេះដោយវាបានធ្វើអោយ ចៅហ្វាយវា បាត់មុខបាត់មាត់និយាយមិនឈ្នះ មឹត្តអ្នកអាន ស្នេហាជាតិនៅលើ ខេអ៉ាយមីឌីយ៉ា (KI-media)នេះ។ តាមយោបល់ របស់ពួកមីសំផឹងអស់សាច់ យួនកន្តប ដូចជាម៉ែអា ភីភីយូ (PPU)ជាដើមបានអោយ
ដឹងថា អ្នកស្នេហាជាតិខ្មែរមឹនបាច់ធ្វើអ្វីទេ
ពីព្រោះ អា យួន ភីភីយូ (PPU) នេះកំពុងតែស្លាប់
នឹងជម្ងីAIDS/SIDA រួចទៅហើយ!
Please help cut and paste this good news for ah PPU! Thanks so kindly for your cooperation!
ហេ អា ភីភីយូ (PPU) អាឯងចង់បៀម ក្ដ ឪ អា
ឯងទេអាចុយម៉្រាយ???
ពីអញ ឪអាភីភីយូ (PPU)
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PPU
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