Cryptosporidium Lawyer & Attorney : Marler Clark : Cryptosporidium Blog

September 29, 2006
Lawrence Journal-World (KS)
George Diepenbrock
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/sep/29/two_more_cases_crypto_confirmed/?city_local

The diseases are pesky, and new cases are still cropping up.

Area health experts warn residents to wash their hands and follow other advice to stay healthy.

The Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department reported two more confirmed cases of cryptosporidiosis Thursday.

The new cases involve adults with no connection to child care facilities, and health officials are not sure how they may have contracted the disease.

“It’s really hard to tell at this point. We just know that they were isolated,” said Sheryl Tirol Goodwin, a health department spokeswoman.

The county now has nine cases of cryptosporidiosis and eight of giardiasis. Most are toddlers and children. Three people have had both diseases.

Parasites cryptosporidium and giardia, spread by fecal-oral contact, can cause diarrhea and other symptoms.

Some of the first cases in August were children and staff members concentrated at a Lawrence day care center. Health experts have found no connection to swimming pools in the county.

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SAN JOSE, CA – The Santa Clara County Public Health Department is monitoring interactive play fountains around the county after seven children were infected by a Cryptosporidium parasite while playing in a fountain at Plaza de Cesar Chavez, according to an article in The Mercury News.

The Plaza de Cesar Chavez fountain and another fountain in McEnery Park have been shut off, and city officials are expected to meet this week with representatives from the county to review filtration systems for removing bacteria from the water, the story said.

Interactive fountains, which are designed for water play, continuously recirculate water through a series of jets, increasing the opportunity for contaminants to build up, the report noted.

Unlike public pools, hot tubs, spas and water parks, interactive fountains are not monitored by health officials for proper chlorination, according to the article.

To read the full article, click here.

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Cryptosporidium parvum (also known as "Crypto") is a parasite that is too small to be seen with the naked eye. It is found in water and food sources contaminated with the feces of infected humans, cattle, and other mammals. The infectious form of the parasite, known as an ìoocyst, it is highly resistant to the levels of chlorine normally found in drinking water and swimming pools.

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Marler Clark filed a class action lawsuit against the New York Office of State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation on behalf of over nearly 4,000 people who became ill with Cryptosporidiosis after visiting the Sprayground at Seneca Lake State Park in June, July, and August, 2005.  The Class was recently certified.

The New York State Health Department shut down the Sprayground on August 15 after it was determined that the Sprayground’s water holding tanks, which were used to recycle water, were contaminated with Cryptosporidium.

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KIDS' OUTBREAK PUTS SITES ON LIST FOR MONITORING

By Joyce Chen
Mercury News

Santa Clara County health officials said Thursday that they have identified all the interactive fountains in the county for the first time and will take steps to monitor their water to prevent disease outbreaks.

The action came after seven children were infected by a microscopic parasite while playing in a popular fountain at Plaza de Cesar Chavez in downtown San Jose. Tests on the water found Cryptosporidium, which causes nausea, diarrhea and other gastrointestinal distress.

City officials immediately shut off the fountain and closed another, in McEnery Park, as a precautionary measure.

Both work by running the same water through the jets over and over, increasing the chance that Cryptosporidium and other contaminants from human and animal feces will build up. City and county officials will meet next week to review filtration systems that would remove the parasite and other dangerous microbes, according to Ed Bautista, a spokesman for the city parks and recreation department.

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Flies implicated as vector for Cryptosporidium

There's yet another good reason to keep flies off your food: Both houseflies and filth flies can transmit cryptosporidiosis, and better fly control is one key to decreasing the risk of this disease, Dr. Thaddeus Graczyk reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Cryptosporidiosis is a parasitic diarrheal disease, and children, travelers to foreign countries, and immunocompromised individuals can be at particular risk. Large waterborne outbreaks have occurred in several U.S. cities.

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September 2, 2006

Knight-Ridder Tribune
James Hohmann, San Jose Mercury News, Calif.

Health officials across the Bay Area acknowledged Friday that public fountains are not inspected for the dangerous microbes that sickened at least seven people who played in the water at San Jose's Plaza de Cesar Chavez. In fact, they said, they d on't even know where all those fountains are.

A day after San Jose announced the closure of the popular downtown water feature because the city cannot assure its safety, it became clear that dozens of fountains in at least four counties are also falling through the regulatory cracks. And officials promised to move swiftly to close the gap -- although it is not clear what they need to do or how long it will take.

Health officials have long known of the danger of Cryptosporidium -- a parasite that sickened seven children who played in the plaza fountain this summer -- in public swimming pools, and those bodies of water are subject to inspection. But fountains are n ot -- even though the new generation of interactive fountains, like the one at the plaza, invite water play.

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