"Diapered children frequently sat on top of splash features"---MMWR Gets To The Bottom Of 2007 Crypto Outbreak In Meridian, Idaho .
The 2007 closure of the splash park in Meridian, Idaho's popular Settler's Park after the chlorine-resistant parasite Cryptosporidium began making people sick gets an autopsy in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) for June 12, 2009.
MMWR, published by the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), say Meridian "reopened the splash park in 2008 after installation of an ultraviolet treatment system, improvement of hygiene facilities, hiring of attendants to monitor for nonhygienic behaviors by visitors, and posting of educational signs instructing visitors not to drink the splash-feature water."
Health officials first learned of the problem at the Idaho splash poark when they learned of the complaints of "several ill persons with watery diarrhea consistent with cryptosporidiosis after attendance at a municipal splash park on July 26."
MMWR reports that: "The initial investigation by CDHD and IDHW began on August 7 with interviews of 20 persons who attended a party at the splash park on July 26. Among those 20 persons, 12 reported gastrointestinal illness that began August 1--6 (6--11 days after exposure), including eight persons who reported watery diarrhea. All 12 ill persons reported exposure to splash-feature water, and six reported exposure to water from a nearby drinking fountain. No food items at the party were implicated as the source of the outbreak. Investigators hypothesized that swallowing contaminated splash park water was the source of illness."
Additional investigation found that while there were no deaths nor over-night hospital stays, at least 45 people were ill from the crypto. As to the cause: "During an initial site inspection, young children were observed to be the predominant users of the splash park, and diapered children frequently sat on top of splash features. Soap was not available in nearby restrooms, nor were showers. Public health education signs were not posted at the park. The splash park did not have any standing water; investigators noted that water drained from a concrete deck, passed through a high-flow sand filter, and was chlorinated before recirculation through several splash features."
See the complete report in MMWR.
