City of Phoenix health officials have closed the city’s public swimming pools after an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis, a parasite, caused by contaminated pool water.
58 people, including 17 lifeguards have become ill because of the parasite in recent days. The parasite is transmitted by contact with contaminated feces and causes diarrhea and stomach maladies. It is unknown how long the public pools will be close but they will not open before all traces of the parasite and any health risks have been removed from the water.
City officials assured Phoenix residents that there are no traces of cryptoporidiosis in the city’s drinking water. To battle the cryptosporidiosis, the city has opted to hyper-chlorinate the water. This process will hopefully kill all parasites and mean that the public pools will be closed for as short a time as possible.
Sources: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2008/07/16/20080716pool0716.html, http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2008/07/17/20080717pool0717.html
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