By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, May 18, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Families seeking to cool off don't expect to catch a nasty infection. Still, outbreaks of a diarrhea-causing parasitic infection in swimming pools and water playgrounds within the United States have doubled lately, health officials warn.
At least 32 cryptosporidiosis outbreaks were reported in 2016, in comparison with 16 outbreaks in 2014, in response to a brand new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Crypto is probably the most common explanation for diarrhea, in response to the CDC. It spreads when people come into contact with the feces of an infected person.
Otherwise, healthy people may experience watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea or vomiting for up to 3 weeks, warns the CDC. In individuals with weakened immune systems, the infection will be life-threatening.
The cause? Adults or children sick with crypto-induced diarrhea swim in public pools despite their illness, further spreading the parasite, said Michele Hlavsa, director of the CDC's Healthy Swimming program.
During an episode of diarrhea, “a typical person becomes ill with…” Cryptosporidium “can release 10 to 100 million oocysts, which represents the infectious stage of crypto,” Hlavsa said. “Swallowing 10 or fewer of these oocysts can make you sick.” If we take a look at a normal-sized pool, swallowing only a sip of water could make us sick.
People can even contaminate pool water with crypto through physical contact, said Lilly Kan, senior director of infectious diseases and informatics on the National Association of County & City Health Officials (NACCHO).
For example, parents could spread the parasite if they modify a toddler's crypto-contaminated diaper after which hop into the water without washing their hands thoroughly, Kan said.
Hlavsa explained that Krypto is chlorine resistant and may survive for as much as 10 days even in properly chlorinated pool water.
“The oocysts have a hard outer shell and are therefore very resistant to chemical disinfectants,” said Hlavsa.
According to the CDC report, crypto outbreaks last yr were the very best this decade.
However, experts can't say whether more outbreaks are literally occurring or whether health authorities have gotten higher at detecting them, Hlavsa said.
The results were published within the CDC on May 19 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
Some country-specific outbreaks were mentioned within the report:
- Ohio saw an almost five-fold increase in cryptosporidiosis cases in 2016, with 1,940 cases reported, in comparison with a mean of 399 cases within the 4 years prior. In one outbreak, members of a university sports team became in poor health after visiting a water park.
- Arizona reported 352 lab-confirmed cases between July and October 2016, in comparison with a maximum of 62 cases detected annually in previous years. That included 36 players and relations of a Little League team who became in poor health after attending an aquatics facility in Maricopa County.
People mustn't swim in the event that they have diarrhea, and so they should keep children with diarrhea away from the pool, Hlavsa said. If they've been diagnosed with crypto, they need to wait two weeks after the diarrhea stops to go swimming.
Parents should take their children to the lavatory steadily and never depend on swim diapers to guard other swimmers from their child's diarrhea, Hlavsa added.
“Swim diapers don’t contain diarrhea,” she said. “If water gets into the diaper, water will come out.”
To protect themselves, swimmers should avoid swallowing pool water and be certain children don't have pool toys that encourage swallowing the water, Hlavsa said.
A second report in MMWR identified one other potential danger of public swimming pools – inhaling toxic chlorine gas.
The report said that between 2008 and 2015, roughly 190 people were harmed in nine separate incidents because of mishandling of pool chemicals in California. Symptoms of chlorine gas inhalation included vomiting, coughing, and eye irritation.
Hlavsa said staff must read the pool chemical label, follow instructions and wear appropriate safety equipment.
Additionally, Jennifer Li, senior director of environmental health at NACCHO, said employees should clear the pool area before starting circulation pumps since the introduction of concentrated pool chemicals may end up in a sudden release of chlorine gas.
Managers of swimming pools and water parks need to make sure their employees are trained, Li added.
“There are a lot of seasonal staff in these public facilities, and they need to be properly trained before they start pool maintenance,” Li said.