This week is Recreational Water Illness Prevention Week - May 21-27, 2007

[Sonia Joseph <Sonia.Joseph@noaa.gov>]

Just an FYI: Recreational Water Illness Prevention Week --- May
21--27, 2007

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5619a5.htm?s_cid=mm5619a5_e%0A


The third annual National Recreational Water Illness Prevention Week
is scheduled for May 21--27, 2007, at the onset of swimming season, to
raise awareness regarding the potential for spread of infectious
diseases at swimming venues and the need to improve prevention
measures. An estimated 8.1 million swimming pools are available for
private or public use in the United States (1). Each year, U.S.
residents make an estimated 360 million visits to recreational water
venues (e.g., swimming pools, spas, lakes, and oceans), making
swimming the second most common physical activity (after walking) in
the country and the most common among children (2). The number of
waterparks has increased to approximately 1,000 in North America, with
another 600 elsewhere around the world. Approximately 73 million
visits were made to North American waterparks in 2004, and the number
of visits increased by 3%--5% during the preceding 5 years (3).
Recreational water illnesses (RWIs) are spread by swallowing,
breathing, or having contact with contaminated water from swimming
pools, spas, lakes, rivers, or oceans (4). The most commonly reported
RWI is diarrhea caused by pathogens such as Cryptosporidium, Giardia,
Shigella, and Escherichia coli O157:H7. Children, pregnant women, and
persons with compromised immune systems are at greatest risk.
Infection with Cryptosporidium can be life threatening to persons with
weakened immune systems (5). Other RWIs can cause various ailments,
including skin, ear, eye, respiratory, wound, and neurologic
infections.

During 1978_2004, a steady increase in RWI outbreaks in the United
States resulted in approximately 30,000 illnesses (6). This increase
likely can be attributed to a combination of increased water usage,
improved outbreak detection, and increased disease transmission. The
spread of RWIs is facilitated by emergence of chlorine-resistant
pathogens such as Cryptosporidium (6), poor pool maintenance (7), and
low public awareness of the problem (8). Recommendations for public
swimming pools include improved operation, training, and public
education to protect swimmers from infectious-disease transmission.

Public health agencies and officials are encouraged to become involved
in Recreational Water Illness Prevention Week by engaging the public,
local aquatic operators, and the media in prevention activities.
Suggestions for promoting healthy swimming are available at
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming/tools.htm. Additional information
for public health professionals, aquatics staff members, and the
general public is available at http://www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming and
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming/rwi_prevention_week.htm.

References

1. Pool and spa marketing. United States swimming pool market.
Markham, Ontario: Hubbard Marketing and Publishing Ltd.; 2003:20--1.

2. US Bureau of the Census. Statistical abstract of the United States:
1995. 115th ed. Washington, DC: US Bureau of the Census; 1995.

3. World Waterpark Association. Waterpark industry general and fun
facts. Available at
http://www.waterparks.org/otherarticles/generalfacts.pdf.

4. Castor ML, Beach MJ. Reducing illness transmission from disinfected
recreational water venues: swimming, diarrhea, and the emergence of a
new public health concern. Pediatr Infect Dis J 2004;23:866--70.

5. Chen XM, Keithly JS, Paya CV, LaRusso NF. Cryptosporidiosis. N Engl
J Med 2002;346:1723--31.

6. CDC. Surveillance for waterborne disease and outbreaks associated
with recreational water -- United States, 2003_2004. MMWR 2006;55(No.
SS-12).

7. CDC. Surveillance data from swimming pool inspections: selected
states and counties -- United States, May_September 2002. MMWR 2003;
52:513--6.

8. McClain J, Bernhardt JM, Beach MJ. Assessing parents' perception of
children's risk for recreational water illnesses. Emerg Infect Dis
2005;11:670--6.

--
Gary N. Greenberg, MD MPH    Sysop / Moderator Occ-Env-Med-L MailList
Univ. N. Carolina School Public Health
Medical Director  http://www.UrbanMin.org
Urban Ministries of Wake County Open Door Clinic
http://www.OpenDoorDocs.org
GNGreenberg@gmail.com                       http://occhealthnews.net

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Sonia Joseph
Michigan Sea Grant Outreach Coordinator
Center of Excellence for Great Lakes and Human Health (CEGLHH)
NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
2205 Commonwealth Blvd.
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
(734) 741-2283
(734) 741-2055 (fax)

www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/Centers/HumanHealth

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