FLORENCE, Ky. — An outbreak of cryptosporidiosis, commonly known as crypto, is spreading across northern Kentucky.
The Northern Kentucky Health Department has confirmed about a dozen cases and believes there are many more suspected cases.
Cryptos is a gastrointestinal disease characterized by the following symptoms:
Watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps, mild fever, vomiting, nausea
We reached out to Silver Lake in Erlanger, where the health department says some of the cases came from. The club released the following statement:
“Health and safety is our top priority at Silver Lake and we are taking every possible measure to ensure our pool is safe for our members, staff and guests. Upon notification of the first case from the Health Department, we immediately took steps to close and clean the pool. Members were notified on social media that the pool would be closed for sanitation. We closed the pool by 5 p.m., at which point we followed Northern Kentucky Health Department protocol and performed a process called super-chlorination to kill the cryptids. Silver Lake’s pool was over-chlorinated to a level far beyond that needed to kill the cryptids. Once this process was complete and chlorine levels returned to safe levels, we were given the go-ahead by the Health Department to reopen the pool. This process took more than 42 hours to complete. The outdoor pool was closed from 5 p.m. on August 9th and reopened at 11 a.m. on August 11th.”
The agency said cryptosporins can occur even in pools that are operating at prescribed standards because the parasite is resistant to normal levels of chlorination.
Health officials have warned that young children and those with weakened immune systems are most at risk of severe illness.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the incubation period for the disease is two to 10 days, with symptoms often appearing seven days after exposure.
Cryptos is spread through animal and human waste, and improper hand-washing is a common way to spread the parasite.
Health officials warn that cryptosporin is also known to be resistant to hand sanitizers, but that continued cleaning of surfaces and hand washing can help reduce the risk.
Anyone with similar symptoms is asked to avoid public swimming pools for at least two weeks after symptoms have subsided.
If you think you may have been exposed, health officials encourage you to contact your health care provider for testing and to call the Northern Kentucky Department of Health. The health department said in a press release that it is still investigating the outbreak.
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