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SALT LAKE CITY — There are few better things in the world than a cool swim on a hot day, a short hike up a river trail, or a backyard barbecue. These summer activities get you outside and having some fun, but they come with some microscopic risks — like cryptosporidium.
It's a single-celled parasite that likes to hang out in your small intestine and cause all sorts of problems, the kinds that have you running to your bathroom more often than you'd want to, like diarrhea, nausea and cramps. It's part of a whole family of parasites that infect humans, like malaria and toxoplasmosis.
Summer is the best thing that ever happened to cryptosporidium; the protozoan likes water and spreads easily though it, which means that when we hop into a swimming pool or jump into Utah Lake to cool of, it's more than willing to jump in with us.
- • Wash your hands with soap and water after using the toilet, changing a diaper, and before eating or preparing food.
• Do not swim if you have diarrhea and wait 2-weeks after the diarrhea has stopped before swimming.
• When swimming, do not swallow the water and avoid getting the water in your mouth.
• Take a shower with soap and water, before swimming. Make sure and clean your bottom. The small amounts of fecal material left on your bottom after using the toilet will wash off in the pool water if not washed off before getting into the pool.
• Take frequent bathroom breaks while swimming and make sure small children do the same.
• Change diapers in the bathroom, and not at the pool side.
• After changing a diaper, wash your hands and your child's bottom thoroughly with soap and water.
• If you do have a fecal accident in the pool - report it immediately.
Source: Salt Lake Valley Health Department
"They cause kind of a watery diarrhea and as someone's infected, obviously that's how they pass it to another person: in their stool," said Theron Jeppson, an epidemiologist with the Utah Department of Health.
Someone may have an infection, and they carry that infection along with them in the form of little bits of fecal matter. If you don't wash your hands, or if you're a small child who has an accident in the pool, cryptosporidium will be introduced. Even just a few cells can cause the illness, known as cryptosporidiosis.
Moreover, the parasite is extremely hardy, covered by a hard shell that allows them to survive for a long time outside of their host. Jeppson said they are even resistant to chlorine.
Water's not the only danger, though. Jeppson said that of the 30 confirmed cases seen in Utah this year, only six came from recreational water. The others are from sources like contaminated food, unwashed hands and the like. That makes barbecues and picnics also potential sources of infection.
Jeppeson said that the best way to avoid the spread of this summer disease is for the public to do two things: Stay home if you're sick and be aware if you aren't.
"If you are infected, certainly stay away from other people," he said. "Don't go to places like public pools and the like." He encouraged everyone to wash their hands and try not to get potentially contaminated water in your mouth.
For most people, the disease subsides after a few uncomfortable days, but for those with weaker immune systems, like children and the elderly, there can be serious risks of dehydration. For many people suffering from HIV, cryptosporidiosis infection is an early sign that something is wrong.
Jeppson told people to get to the doctor when they feel sick or think they might be infected. That's the best way to avoid spreading the disease and locating a cluster of infections early on.
