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While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warn of a steady increase in the number of cases of diarrhea in the United States, caused by a summer parasite that caused hundreds of hospitalizations related to swimming pools, livestock farms Cattle and childcare facilities, local health officials fear little Hamilton County.
Cryptosporidium outbreaks, or "crypto", have increased on average by 13% per year between 2009 and 2017, according to a report from the CDC released last week. About 7,500 people became ill, 287 were hospitalized and one person died of the parasite in 40 states and Puerto Rico – who voluntarily report these data. The body is the most harmful to children. This is the main cause of water-related diarrhea and is more common in swimming pools. However, Hamilton County's reports remained largely stable over the same period.
"We have not seen any increase in. In fact, we do not see any reports of illness for this," said Lowe Wilkins, head of the Environmental Health Program.
Reports increased from 2015 to 2017, but remained broadly stable and decreased in 2018. In 2013 and 2014, three cases of cryptography were reported in Hamilton County. Until now, there has been only one report this year.
The body is transmitted orally from feces, which means that the fecal bacteria must enter the person's mouth. This can happen in different ways. It can be digested in food, in the water or from one person to the other. The most common way is to swim in a pool, but it can also be passed by coming in contact with animal droppings, drinking unfiltered water in the streams or in the water. drinking unpasteurized milk or apple cider.
Crypto has an outer shell that makes it difficult to kill. It can survive for days in chlorinated water in pools and water playgrounds. The pools take steps to avoid the body and encourage parents to keep their children sick at home.
"We just make sure that all of our chemicals are always balanced and that the chlorine stays at the appropriate levels.We have a lot of children, if we have a faecal accident, we take the appropriate measures and we make sure that the chlorine is high enough. " said Cassidy Craven, a pool manager at Presbyterian Cumberland on North Moore Road.
In addition to being open to the public, the pool has about 300 day campers, Monday through Friday. It is one of the largest in the region with 330,000 gallons for its Olympic pool.
They have not had a lot of faecal incidents this year, said Craven. When they do, manual pool operators follow to keep families safe. The pool closes while they increase chlorine levels and evacuate excrement. If the faeces are not solid, the pool closes for 24 hours to kill cryptographic and other organisms.
The CDC advises people not to swim or allow children to swim if they have diarrhea, to swallow the water in which they swim, to keep them sick at home, to wash their hands regularly, to wear shoes in environments and drink only pasteurized milk or apples. Cider.
"Young children can become seriously ill and easily transmit Crypto," reads a statement by Michele Hlavsa, head of the CDC's healthy swimming program. "They do not know how to use the toilet and wash their hands, or are learning how, but as parents, we can take steps to help our children stay healthy, whether it's in the water, near animals or in day care. "
Contact writer Mark Pace at [email protected] or 423-757-6659. Follow him on Twitter @thematic space and on Facebook at ChattanoogaOutdoorsTFP.
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