Given the recent swimming pool disease outbreaks, CDC issues guidelines to help citizens fight swimming pool parasites. Medical experts have recently identified the Cryptosporidium parasite which is said to be responsible for many of the hospitalization that U.S. doctors have made in the past months.
The Cryptosporidium parasite is a new form of worm that lives in swimming pools, even when the water has been previously treated with chlorine. Many patients have contracted the disease in the past months and they were brought to the hospital in a severe state of dehydration.
Doctors have warned that the Crypto parasite, as it is commonly known among researchers, infects swimmers, who later on experience diarrhea and vomiting sensations. These affections are hard to treat and, most of the times, patients require hospitalization in order to recover their health condition.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the territory of the United States has subjected various swimming pool facilities to a rigorous control in order to determine whether they observe hygiene rules or not. They have thus, found out that the Crypto bacterium can live for up to 10 days in water that has been chlorinated.
This problem is not new to American swimmers, who have had similar outbreaks in the past, as well. Approximately 90 individuals were hospitalized between 2011 and 2012 after getting infected with the water bacterium.
This year, 1,800 people were diagnosed with the diarrhea parasite and 95 of them were taken to the hospital, according to CDC’s data. The institution for medical research was forced to issue a list of guidelines to help swimmers protect themselves against contaminated waters.
According to CDC, swimmers should avoid water that has not been chlorinated. Swimming pool administrators, on the other hand should make sure that the most important rules of hygiene are being carefully observed. They should not allow people to swim in the pool if they have reasons to believe that these are suffering from a similar affection.
Swimmers should not urinate or poo in the pool and administrators should fine individuals who do not conform to this rule.
The safest way to prevent such infections is to shower after every bath that you have taken in the swimming pool, the institution has further added. Swimmers must by all means avoid getting water from the pool into their eyes or mouth as these organs are incredibly sensitive to bacteria.
Medical experts are highly concerned about the new Crypto parasite existing in swimming pools. They are particularly worried for children as their immune system is much weaker than the one of the adults and they could easily contract the disease.
Image source: www.cdc.gov
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