Denton will shock public pools with chlorine ‘til summer’s over

by PegNews wire

DENTON — The Denton County Public Health has reported some cases of cryptosporidiosis (the disease caused by the cryptosporidium parasite) and is in the process of tracing the source. There have not been any reports of illnesses relating to cryptosporidiosis symptoms at the City of Denton pools. However, in attempt to safeguard our swimmers, we have taken some preventive steps recommended by the Denton County Health Department and the City of Denton Consumer Health Division.

The City of Denton has begun hyper chlorinating our pools on a weekly basis to prevent infections. We will continue to hyperchlorinate the outdoor pools until the end of the season. This procedure would kill the cryptosporidium if it was in the pool but would not prevent illnesses if the patrons were exposed prior to the procedure. The City will also maintain the in-pool sanitizer levels to at least two to four times the minimum required by the state health code. The Parks and Recreation Department also requests all patrons to take a cleansing shower before entering the pools and that young children are regularly taken to use the restrooms.

The Natatorium has two indoor pools that use chlorine as a sanitizer. In addition, the Natatorium uses powerful ultraviolet (UV) light system that provides a 100% instant deactivation (kill) of germs including the cryptosporidium parasite. The recirculation system on the indoor pools cycles the water in the pools from 4 to 12 times a day through the UV system. This provides much better sanitation of the pool water than hyperchlorinating once a week.

“The Parks and Recreation Department is taking all available steps to safeguard the citizens using our pools,” said Emerson Vorel, Director of Parks and Recreation. “We are following the latest recommendations from the Center for Disease Control and the Denton County Health Department. We hyperchlorinated Water Works Park on Friday night and the Civic Center Pool on Saturday night and we will continue weekly hyperchlorination for the rest of the season.”

The best prevention strategy is to educate patrons on not using the pools if they are ill, have been throwing up, or have had diarrhea within the previous two weeks. Posters and flyers have been posted at all City of Denton pools stressing proper hygiene before swimming. The only effective prevention for this disease is not to have infected people use the swimming facilities. Even those individuals that have recovered from the infection are contagious up to two weeks after their symptoms have gone away.

Cryptosporidiosis is a parasitic disease affecting the intestines of mammals and is typically an acute short-term infection that is caused by Cryptosporidium, a protozoan parasite. It is a disease spread through the fecal-oral route; the main symptom is diarrhea in people with intact immune systems. Symptoms appear from two to ten days after infection and last for up to two weeks. As well as watery diarrhea, there is often stomach pains or cramps and a low fever. Some individuals are asymptomatic (have no symptoms) but are nevertheless infective, and thus can pass on the infection to others.

For more information, visit http://www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming/posters.htm.

Source: City of Denton