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Cryptosporidium


Information for the General Public

What is Public Health doing?

Utah public health officials have launched a statewide cryptosporidium education campaign aimed at keeping swimmers safe this summer. The campaign is designed to educate Utahns about preventing the spread of cryptosporidium, an illness caused by a parasite that causes long-lasting, often debilitating diarrhea. The campaign represents efforts by state and local health departments to prevent another pool-related outbreak of illness this summer.

A key component of the education campaign is two public awareness commercials which inform Utahns about what they must do in order to keep crypto out of the state’s public pools. The “Keep it clean – No Crypto” television commercials where produced by the Salt Lake Valley Health Department and highlight three crucial “safe swimming behaviors” the public must practice when swimming this summer:

1. Do not swim if you currently have, or have had diarrhea in the last two weeks,
2. Take a cleansing shower with soap before entering the pool, and
3. Do not change diapers by the side of the pool.

In addition to the public education campaign, public health officials have implemented new regulations to help keep crypto out of pools. The new regulations include: requiring children under three years of age or individuals without bowel control wear a swim diaper and waterproof swim pants, requiring swimmers not to swim if they have diarrhea or have had diarrhea in the last two weeks, and providing methods for pool operators to properly respond to fecal accidents in the swimming pools. The regulation also establishes Cryptosporidium Watch and Warning notices and tools that can help officials control an outbreak should one occur. For a full summary of the new pool regulations, visit www.health.utah.gov/crypto.

Note: Many pools throughout the state, including those run by Salt Lake County, have adopted newer technologies that are proven to be more effective in killing the hardy parasite. While the implementation of UV and Ozone filters are a step in the right direction, they cannot replace the importance of proper hygienic and healthy swimming practices.