It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
Just days after a fast-moving gastrointestinal outbreak that swept through one of Pennsylvania’s best-known sleepaway camps, camp directors informed parents that one camper tested positive for E. coli — while insisting the infection was unrelated to the camp’s food or water, according to emails reviewed by The Post.
Tyler Hill director Andy Siegel told parents that a child who became ill roughly a week earlier had tested positive for a strain of E. coli.
According to the child’s physician, the particular strain identified is transmitted through person-to-person contact and is “not believed to be connected to food or camp food-service operations.”
The camp said it is aware of only one confirmed E. coli case and noted that the child had largely recovered before the test results became available. Parents were also told antibiotics were not recommended in the case.
A camp spokesman confirmed to The Post that the case was reported to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
The disclosure comes after The Post reported this week that parents said dozens of campers had fallen ill with gastrointestinal distress, overflowing the infirmaries and filling them beyond capacity.
Some children were sent home as the illness spread through the Wayne County sleepaway camp—something that parents allege to The Post happens repeatedly.
“Every year Tyler Hill has some outbreak of different illnesses; they wait days to inform parents. The director’s solution is to send the sick home,” one parent, who asked not to be identified, told The Post.
Camp officials rejected that claim, saying the last comparable stomach virus outbreak occurred in 2012.
“Like in that year, this bug has hit quite a few camps and was reported to be going around in the NY Region for more than two months prior to the start of camp,” the camp spokesperson said.
One anonymous parent alleged that roughly a quarter of campers were sent home because there was no longer room to house sick children.
The camp disputed that account, saying fewer than 10% of campers left during the outbreak. Officials said many of those children were not sick but were picked up by parents who were anxious about the virus spreading.
Alums also took to social media, claiming some campers, whose parents were enjoying their last few childless weeks on trips in Europe, had no place to go and were taking shelter at friends’ houses or alums’ rooms.
“The campers are leaving camp, and they are not going home because their parents are not home. Their parents are in the South of France,” the alum said in a video on Instagram.
She described the campers’ exodus as a “traveling teen tour” or “youth hostel” presented by said camp.
Camp officials also called it “categorically untrue” that any camper left without a place to stay after leaving camp.
Camp officials told parents they have increased cleaning and disinfection, reinforced handwashing, moved meals outdoors when possible and switched to disposable dining products.
The camp also sought to reassure parents that “our drinking water is tested daily in-house and weekly by an accredited laboratory assigned to us by the Department of Health,” the email said.
Still, sources say that is likely not the case. Parents who have children working at the camp allege that water is not tested during the summer, and that the camp has a staff of international boys and girls who clean the camp, not professionals.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health was unable to add to theThe Post’s questions about whether the confirmed E. coli case is being investigated or confirm the on-site water testing at the time of reporting.
“For a camp that charges what they charge, they should be ashamed and embarrassed that they can’t handle an outbreak,” one parent told The Post.
Camp officials told parents that the number of campers reporting symptoms has been “decreasing dramatically.”
“And happily, the overwhelming majority of our campers and staff are feeling great,” the email said.
Separate emails reviewed by The Post also show camp officials warned alums about the outbreak only hours before last Sunday’s Alumni Day festivities.
“We have a stomach bug making its way through camp, and we want to be extra thoughtful and cautious as we welcome you today,” associate director Michael Davidowitz wrote, adding that if you are immunocompromised or sensitive to viral exposure, they recommend avoiding the event.
Attendees were told not to enter any bunks or visit the health center and were encouraged to leave immediately following the Hall of Fame ceremony.
“We must insist that NO alumni including Tyler Hill parents enter any bunks or visit the Health Center during your time at camp today.”
The day’s schedule was also updated to reflect the changes, with another cheeky joke about avoiding the Sunday mass weekend immigration.
“You’ll save some time sitting in Sunday traffic (you’re welcome =).”
Some parents and alumni questioned why the warning was sent roughly an hour before the festivities began rather than earlier, particularly given reports that campers had already been getting sick for several days.
Camp officials disputed that characterization, telling The Post the email was sent with “more than enough time for anyone intending to come to change their plans.”
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