By Alissa Widman Neese, The Columbus Dispatch
COLUMBUS – Public-health officials have shifted their attention to at-home hygiene as the number of people infected with a diarrheal disease continues to surge in central Ohio.
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This year’s cases of diagnosed cryptosporidiosis spiked to 423 on Monday, up from 250 last week, marking a nearly 70 percent increase in just a few days, according to Jose Rodriguez, spokesman for Columbus Public Health.
The two-county outbreak is the largest one health departments in Columbus and Franklin and Delaware counties have seen in 15 years. On average, the entire state typically logs about 400 cases of cryptosporidiosis in a year, said Melanie Amato, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Health.
Since declaring a community outbreak Aug. 11, health officials have emphasized the parasitic disease’s ability to spread quickly through water in swimming pools, splash pads and water parks. But the highly contagious illness can also be transferred through human-to-human contact in homes, schools and daycare centers — the likely cause of many recent cases, said Dr. Teresa Long, the city’s health commissioner.
“We’re seeing more transmission within families, which is one reason why the number is going up so fast,” Long said.
Of this year’s 423 central Ohio cases, 249 are in Columbus, 130 are in Franklin County and 44 are in Delaware County. About 60 percent of the patients are younger than 18 years old.