An outbreak of a diarrhea-causing parasitic disease linked to swimming pools is sweeping Northern Kentucky.
The Northern Kentucky Department of Health has confirmed There have been about a dozen cases of cryptosporidiosis reported in the region, and many of those confirmed to be ill had visited local swimming pools.
The parasite that causes Cryptosporidium, Cryptosporidium hominins, is highly resistant to chlorine, the ingredient par excellence for keeping pools clean. Normal concentrations of this chemical in pools do not destroy it.
The source of the outbreak is still unknown, but a family recreation center with pools and slides called Silverlake in Erlanger, Kentucky, was forced to close to increase chlorine levels to kill any remaining parasites.
Silverlake, a family pool and fitness club in Erlanger, Kentucky, recently reopened after having to increase chlorination in its pools to kill the cryptoparasite that is making people sick.
A person infected with the parasite sheds infectious spores in his or her feces.
Another person becomes sick when he or she accidentally touches or swallows infected fecal matter.
When ingested, these spores migrate to the small intestine and invade intestinal cells to produce more spores.
As the parasitic cells grow, they cause damage to the wall of the intestine, resulting in watery diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, and mild fever.
The infection is usually self-limiting, meaning it clears up on its own without medical treatment. The infection usually lasts about two weeks.
Unless a person has particularly weak defenses, the body’s immune system attacks the parasite and limits its ability to reproduce in the gastrointestinal tract.
For this reason, children and older people, who tend to have weaker immune systems, are at particularly high risk of experiencing a severe episode of illness lasting several weeks.
Steve Divine, Director of Environmental Health and Safety for the Northern Kentucky Health Department, saying Pools should be ‘super-chlorinated’ to kill the offending parasite: ‘Raise the chlorine level much higher than you normally would for daily operation.
“That has to last for a certain number of hours and then let it drop to a normal range again before people can swim again.”
Silverlake did exactly that when the health department learned that about half of crypto cases could be traced back to there.
The club issued a statement assuring the public that the pool had been “super chlorinated to ensure levels were far beyond what was necessary to kill cryptocurrency.”
“Once this process was completed and chlorine levels were safe again, we were cleared by the Department of Health to reopen the pool. This process took over 42 hours to complete.”
The origin of the outbreak remains unknown, though about half of the people who fell ill are said to have visited Silverlake. Health Department officials expect the current number of crypto cases to rise
While summer fun has been able to resume in Silverlake, Mr. Divine remains convinced the outbreak won’t stop there: “We have at least 12 cases that have been tested and confirmed. That number is going to increase.”
Infection can spread quickly in the pool, regardless of how diligent authorities are in monitoring chlorine levels.
Standard chlorine levels in swimming pools, one to three parts per million, are not enough to eliminate the pathogen, which can survive there for about a week, depending on the water temperature.
An infected person can shed millions of cryptospores in their feces. Even a small amount entering a swimming pool can cause widespread illness.
To kill the parasite by superchlorination, the chlorine level must be increased to approximately 20 parts per million and maintained at that level for approximately 13 hours.
In addition to swimming pools, nurseries are hotbeds of contamination and account for 13 percent of outbreaks.
Mr Divine said: “I’m not just worried about swimming pools at the moment, I’m worried about childcare. And now that schools have reopened, I’m worried about those too.”
The CDC recommends that anyone using the pool rinse off in the shower before and after entering, take children who are in the pool to the bathroom regularly and make sure they wash their hands well, prevent a child from swimming if he or she has recently had diarrhea, and never change a baby’s diaper in the pool; always do so in the bathroom.
Dr. Joseph Eisenberg, chair of epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, saying:Not swallowing water is difficult when a child is active in the water and continually submerges his or her head.
‘A parent can be proactive by making sure the swimming facility is doing a good job of managing pool risks.’
And if you do get infected, remember to stay hydrated, Dr. Eisenberg said.
“Especially if it’s a child who has diarrhea. Fluid loss can lead to more serious illness, and giving fluids intravenously is something we can all try to avoid.”