Just when you thought it was safe to start drinking water again, Brits are being warned they could catch cryptosporidium from having sex.
In recent weeks, a total of 77 cases of the parasite, which normally infects people through ingestion of contaminated feces, have been recorded.
And while drinking water, as is the case in the large outbreak in Devon, and interaction with infected animals are the biggest sources of infection, other cases could be spread through sexual activity.
Sexual contact is one of the more unusual ways that Cryptosporidium can be transmitted from person to person.
Cryptosporidium infection causes victims to suffer days of diarrhea, vomiting and agonizing stomach cramps, and one victim even compared it to “childbirth.”
UK officials have not issued any specific advice on how to avoid Cryptosporidium infection through sexual activity, but acknowledge it is a risk.
Residents of Brixham, Boohay, Kingswear, Roseland and north-east Paignton in Devon were asked to boil water as a precaution.
While the outbreaks in Devon and on animal farms in England are thought to be linked to animal faeces, it is also possible for people to transmit it to each other.
This usually occurs from not washing hands properly when caring for someone, such as a parent caring for and cleaning a child infected with cryptosporidium, or food preparation by an infected person.
However, strangely enough, sex is also a risk, even weeks after a person stops showing any symptoms.
Part of the danger is that people who have had the virus can remain contagious for up to two weeks after their symptoms disappear.
The threat is such that in some parts of the world, such as the United States, people infected with cryptosporidium are asked to abstain from all sexual activity for at least 14 days after their last symptoms.
Cryptosporidium is usually transmitted through lovemaking activities that combine oral and anal sex with penetration, or specific sexual acts that involve the anus, such as anal fingering or rimming.
Rimming, also known as anilingus, is a term for oral stimulation of the anus using the tongue or lips.
Advice from U.S. health authorities urges people to avoid sexual activity with people who have experienced cryptosporidium symptoms, such as diarrhea, for at least two weeks.
Other similar advice says that potentially infected people should make sure to thoroughly wash their anus, penis, and any sex toys involved in such sexual activity with soap and water, before and after.
International advice notes that men who have sex with men are at increased risk of becoming infected with cryptosporidium through sexual activity.
There is similar advice for people who have had Cryptosporidium infections and pools.
Cryptosporidium is resistant to chlorine, so even swimming in pools is no guarantee against infection (file image)
This is because traces of the chlorine-resistant parasite can persist in dried trails of feces that are then washed away when the previously infected person enters the pool, potentially infecting other people who have the water in their mouths.
UK health officials told MailOnline they have not issued any specific advice on avoiding sexual activity for anyone affected by the current outbreak.
But the UK Health Security Agency does. Recognize exposure to human faces through sexual contact as a possible route of infection.
