GREELEY, Colo. -- An outbreak of the H1N1 virus at a University of Northern Colorado children’s summer program and the closures of two other Colorado summer camps have parents on edge about a virus that many thought had died off.

The Weld County Health Department said five people have tested positive for H1N1 at a UNC summer camp.

Dr. Ned Calonge, Chief Medical Officer at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said H1N1 has unexpectedly surged this summer, showing up at a number of children’s camps nationwide.

“I think it's important for people to know it didn't go away. It's still here. We still need to be prepared for it,” he said.

But Dr. Calonge also said people should not panic. The virus has shown itself to be no more severe than the average flu virus and unless a child suffers from a chronic illness, parents should not worry about sending the child off to camp.

“I think if you know there is not H1N1 in your camp, your child is otherwise well,” he said. “You'd have to gauge my advice against that of your doctor and you as a parent, but I have given the advice that I would send your child.”

Calonge said children who are chronically ill, however, are particularly susceptible to any kind of flu, and the camps that have shut down have done the right thing.

“A camp that brings young people together who have chronic disease, where they might not do as well with the flu, that actually makes a lot of sense to say maybe this year, until this is all quieted down and gone, we close this camp and we don't put anyone at unnecessary risk,” he said.

That is exactly why, for the first time in 30 years, the American Lung Association in Colorado has canceled Camp Champ, a weeklong summer program for children with asthma.

“With kids with asthma, they're definitely more vulnerable,” said Champ Camp director April Obholz Bergeler. “It's pointless to compromise their health.”

Wendy Morrison, whose 9-year-old daughter MacKenzie Broad was planning to attend the camp for the second year in a row, said the cancellation was disappointing, but necessary.

“She and I shed a few tears,” she said. “But I do believe this was the right thing to do.”

The American Lung Association in Colorado will provide refunds to the 80 or so children who registered, and expects to resume camp next summer.

Doctors plan to monitor the severity of the virus throughout the summer for clues about how it could manifest in the fall as children return to school. Dr. Calonge said the best defense is to educate your child about basic sanitation.

“I think parents do need to talk to their kids about good sanitation, good hand-washing, ways to avoid coming in contact with the flu,” he said.