• Don't drink the water: CDC says diarrhea-inducing parasite on the rise

    From edellwy@21:1/5 to All on Fri May 19 06:03:36 2017
    XPost: sac.politics, alt.politics.democrats, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh
    XPost: alt.california

    If you’re planning to take a dip in a pool this summer, make
    sure to plug your nose and close your mouth. Any inadvertent
    ingestion of even chlorinated pool water could wind up giving
    you cryptosporidium. More simply known as “crypto,” the
    microscopic parasite can make otherwise healthy adults and
    children feel incredibly sick with stomach cramps, nausea and
    bouts of diarrhea that can last up to three weeks.

    This isn’t a new parasite, but according to the Centers for
    Disease Control and Prevention, the number of recorded crypto
    outbreaks has doubled at U.S. pools and water playgrounds in two
    years. In 2014, there were 16 outbreaks, according to data
    published by the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on
    Thursday. In 2016, there were 32.

    Ohio was one of the most heavily-infected states, according to
    the CDC, with 1,940 people falling ill due to the infection in
    2016 compared to less than 600 in any previous year.

    Before you cancel your child’s swim lessons, however, the CDC
    said it’s not sure what accounts for the rise in recorded
    outbreaks.

    “It is not clear whether the number of outbreaks has increased
    or whether better surveillance and laboratory methods are
    leading to better outbreak detection,” it said in a press
    statement.

    Once a pool or water playground is infected with crypto, it’s
    easy to spread, but not easy to get rid of. It can survive up to
    10 days in properly chlorinated water, and it takes just a swig
    to get sick. The only way to ensure the health of the water once
    its been infected is to close the pool and treat it with
    extremely high levels of chlorine that are dangerous for humans
    to swim in.

    Meanwhile, the only way to ensure your own health is to take
    precautions when swimming in pools or playing at water parks.
    The CDC recommends avoiding swallowing any water and rinsing off
    in the shower once you get out.

    The CDC also says people can help contain the germs by avoiding
    the pool while sick and waiting two weeks after symptoms subside
    from a suspected case of crypto before going swimming.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early- lead/wp/2017/05/18/dont-drink-the-water-cdc-says-diarrhea- inducing-parasite-on-the-rise-in-u-s-
    pools/?utm_term=.b6ab24ec6dd2

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