By Kayla Beard, The Columbus Dispatch, and staff reports
COLUMBUS – As pool and water park employees across central Ohio readied for crowds this holiday weekend, they knew they had taken precautions to make the pools as safe as possible for the tens of thousands of area residents who will splash in them this summer.
READ MORE: In The Columbus Dispatch
Now, it’s up to the public to do the same. That means staying out of the water if you are sick.
Last summer, central Ohio experienced its largest-ever outbreak of cryptosporidiosis, a highly contagious diarrheal disease, which sickened 1,940 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It was tied to several swimming pools and water parks and was spread among people in Franklin and Delaware counties.
Steps to prevent spread of “crypto”
Don’t swim when you have diarrhea.
Don’t swallow pool water and avoid getting it in your mouth.
Shower before swimming and wash your hands after using the bathroom or changing diapers.
Make sure kids take frequent bathroom breaks or change diapers often.
Change diapers in a bathroom and not at poolside.
Wash your hands carefully with soap and water before eating and swimming.
-Source: Columbus Public Health
It was first detected in July and continued to spread for months. Because the disease typically is spread through feces, and often in swimming pools, health officials expected the outbreak to slow down at the end of summer, when most pools closed. But cases kept popping up, likely spread among family members or in day-care centers or schools, officials said.
About 50 people were hospitalized.
The CDC said at least 32 cryptosporidiosis outbreaks linked to swimming pools or water playgrounds were reported in the United States in 2016, compared with 16 outbreaks in 2014. In Ohio, the 1,940 cases compared with no more than 571 cases for any one year from 2012 through 2015.
Jose Rodriguez, spokesman for Columbus Public Health, said the city is preparing its pools the same way it does every year.
“Pool safety for us is a year-round job,” he said. “We inspect our licensed pools on a regular basis to help prevent all types of water-borne illnesses.”
Still, health officials were reeling last summer as the outbreak grew.
“I can’t even tell you how it started,” said Traci Whittaker, a spokeswoman for the Delaware General Health District.
Columbus Public Health’s pool inspection signs are color-coded. Green means health standards were met at inspection; yellow indicates the pool is in the enforcement process; red means the pool is closed and a white sign indicates pools that are on probation.
Pool inspection reports are posted online.
Cryptosporidiosis is caused by a microscopic parasite, which causes infection when swallowed. It also can be spread through human contact.
To monitor the types of crypto being detected around the country and track its spread, the CDC is developing CryptoNet, the first molecular tracking system for a parasitic infection.
“Ohio in particular is very involved in CryptoNet,” says Michele Hlavsa, chief of the CDC’s Healthy Swimming Program.” We want to know what’s going on in Ohio and make sure we don’t see as many outbreaks this as we’ve seen last year.”
Hlavsa was interviewed on “Perspective.”
CryptoNet allows health officials to understand what varieties of the parasite are being encountered and where so outbreaks can be monitored, Hlavsa said.