Cryptosporidium Outbreak: Six Flags water park expected to reopen August 20
August 20, 2006
Daily Herald (IL)
Joseph Ryan
Six Flags Great America's Hurricane Harbor water park in Gurnee was shut down by the state Friday and Saturday after reports of an intestinal illness in four attendees.
Six Flags hoped to have the water park, which includes 26 slides, wave pools, water playgrounds and river raft rides, re-open today after increased chlorination and follow-up testing.
The Illinois Department of Public Health asked Six Flags to close off the water park following the confirmation that two attendees had cryptosporidiosis, which causes vomiting, diarrhea and death in extreme cases.
The disease is caused by microscopic parasites, and is one of the most common waterborne illnesses in the U.S. The parasites are resistant to chlorine.
The state received two confirmed cases and two unconfirmed cases of the illness, said public health spokeswoman Melaney Arnold.
Arnold said the incident was "likely through no fault" of Six Flags.
"Somebody probably came in sick to the park, and that illness was in the water, and someone else was able to pick it up," she said.
The parasites can survive in water that is properly chlorinated, Arnold added.
Six Flags vigorously defended the cleanliness of its water park in a statement Saturday.
"There is no evidence linking this to our water park," the statement says. "We have received no reports or complaints from our thousands of other guests."
Arnold says the state doesn't need proof the illness was picked up at Six Flags, only a suspicion. The four people infected with the illness were part of a group visiting from out of state.
"Obviously we want to error on the side of caution," she said.
The water park contains a computer-controlled chemical system that monitors chlorine levels, the Six Flag statement says.
The chemical levels are tested every hour. The last state inspection occurred on July 24 and found the chemical levels to be acceptable, the statement says.
The two-day shutdown is the first such incident since the water park opened in May of 2005, said Six Flags spokeswoman Katie Goodale.
