Don't
drink the waterMay 1997
Food
isn't the only mode of transmission for bacteria. Children can ingest
diarrhea-causing microbes like Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Shigella
sonnei, and E. coli O157:H7 by swallowing water while swimming in a
lake, river or even a chlorinated pool. Investigators have linked recreational
water use to numerous past outbreaks of GI illnesses.
In fact, 14 U.S. outbreaks of GI illness related to recreational water use were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during 1993-1994. Cryptosporidium caused six outbreaks, Giardia caused four, Shigella three and E. coli O157:H7 one. Similar outbreaks were also reported during 1991-1992, according to the CDC.
In a 1993 outbreak, more than 400 people were infected with Cryptosporidium after swimming in a New Jersey lake. Outbreaks of Shigella, E. coli O157:H7 and S. sonnei have also been linked to lakes across the United States.
However, when children present with GI illness, ask whether they have been swimming in chlorinated water, the CDC advised. Although chlorine kills most bacteria, consider infection with Cryptosporidium or Giardi, because the protozoan parasites are resistant to chlorine.
Investigators also stated that health care providers should consider asking for Cryptosporidium testing of stool specimens from all people with watery diarrhea. People do not have to defecate in water for transmission to occur. Immunocompetent people who recover from acute Cryptosporidium infection can excrete the pathogen in their stool for 30 to 60 days. They can have enough fecal material in their perianal area to contaminate a pool, so the CDC recommends showering before swimming.
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