Understanding more about crypto, a parasite that causes vomiting and diarrhea, might help this infection from spreading too far within a community.
Unfortunately, this is becoming more important as there seem to be an increasing number of cryto outbreaks each year, especially during the summer, as cryto spreads in community swimming pools and water parks.
Common myths and facts about crypto include:
- Myth: - You can easily test pool water to see if there is any crypto in the water. It is actually difficult to test pool water for the crypto parasite. Instead, swimming pool operators are usually alerted to the fact that their pool is contaminated once a child that was in their pool is discovered to have a confirmed case of crypto.
- Fact: - swallowing contaminated water is the main way that children get sick with crypto in pool water. According to the CDC, 'swimming is essentially communal bathing,' so you want to teach your kids at an early age to not swallow pool water, which can get them sick with crypto and perhaps other germs in the water.
- Myth: - a pool must be free of crypto if it recently underwent the hyperchlorination procedure to kill crypto. While hyperchlorination will kill any crypto that is in the pool, as soon as another contagious child gets in the water, which may be a matter or hours or days later, the pool could have crypto in it again.
- Fact: - although standard levels of chlorine don't kill crypto and hyperchlorination doesn't kill crypto on an ongoing basis, other technologies may help keep pools safe, including in-line ultraviolet light radiation, ozone systems, chlorine dioxide use, or improved filtration.
- Myth: - a child has to have diarrhea or a stooling accident in the pool for crypto to get in the water. Although having diarrhea or a bowel movement in a swim diaper or a stooling accident directly into the pool water will definitely contaminate the water (releasing about 1 billion oocysts into the water), children may also have some crypto oocysts on their bottom after having a bowel movement in the bathroom. After returning to the pool, if they didn't shower or take a bath first, these oocysts could also contaminate the water. They can also get someone sick because it takes just 10 to 30 crypto oocysts to cause an infection.
- Fact: - some people with crypto don't have any symptoms, but are still contagious. This is another reason why it may be a good idea for people who have been in a contaminated pool to stay out of other pools for a while.
- Myth: - you can only get crypto from swimming pools. While contaminated water in swimming pools and water parks is the most common way to get crypto that we hear about, it is also possible to get crypto from contaminated drinking water, from infected farm animals and pets (less common), and from direct contact with infected people, like in day care centers.
- Fact: - many cases of crypto go undiagnosed and unreported. Some experts estimated that over 95% of symptomatic cases go undetected, either because they go away before parents seek treatment for their children, they understand that it will eventually go away without treatment in most otherwise healthy children so they don't go to the doctor, they don't realize that it is a treatable condition, or they don't even realize that their child could have something like crypto, blaming it instead on food poisoning or a stomach virus.
- Fact: - crypto infections can be much more serious in people with immune system problems, including HIV and children getting chemotherapy.
Sources:
Cryptosporidiosis Surveillance -- United States, 2003-2005. MMWR Surveill Summ. September 7, 2007 / 56(SS-7);1-10.
Cryptosporidiosis Surveillance --- United States 1999--2002. MMWR Surveill Summ. January 28, 2005 / 54(SS-1);1-8.
CDC. Recreational Water Illness Outbreak Response Toolkit.
Cryptosporidiosis outbreaks associated with recreational water use; five states, 2006 MMWR (July 27, 2007 / 56(29), 729-732).
Cryptosporidiosis in children. Huang DB - Semin Pediatr Infect Dis - 01-OCT-2004; 15(4): 253-9.
