By Tom Blakey
City officials have voluntarily closed the splash pad at Andrews Park for the remainder of the season, after receiving positive results from a water sample tested for Cryptosporidiosis or "Crypto," a diarrheal disease.
Norman Parks and Recreation Director Jud Foster said a certified lab in Oklahoma City reported finding two organisms in a 4 gallon sample of water submitted Monday by city officials.
"We don't know if (the organisms) were viable or not. They may have been old and killed from our treatment," Foster said. If that were the case, the organisms would still be present, but they wouldn't be active, he said.
Cleveland County Health Department officials confirmed earlier this week 17 cases of Cryptosporidiosis or "Crypto" were reported in Cleveland County during the month of August.
Health department officials said less than one-third of those who contracted the disease had been to the splash pad, Foster said.
Foster said he met with health department officials after receiving the test results. "The health department checked with Centers for Disease Control, and from here they recommended we change the filter and clean the system again and we should be good to go," he said.
Workers are "hyper-chlorinating" the system to ensure its cleanliness, Foster said. The splash pad was scheduled to close at the end of the month and officials decided to close two weeks early with the hyper-chlorination procedure.
"We closed the splash pad last night and we're going to leave it closed over the winter," Foster said.
Normal levels of chlorine do not kill the Crypto parasite. Most pools are normally chlorinated at 3 to 5 parts per million, but pools need to be super-chlorinated at up to 10 ppm monthly or hyper-chlorinated at up to 20 ppm to kill the parasites following a pool contamination, officials said.
Shari Kinney, administrator of the Cleveland and McClain County health departments, said Crypto is commonly found this time of year, in swimming pools, splash pads and day care centers.
Cryptosporidium is a parasite that can cause long-lasting diarrhea. It is typically transmitted from fecal matter in recreational water, such as swimming pools or splash pads, and causes cryptosporidiosis. When someone who is infected with the parasite gets into the water, fecal matter from that person can get into the pool. Swimmers then swallow or get the infected water in their mouths in the pool, Kinney said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, the diarrheal disease is most commonly spread by children in child care settings. The disease can be transmitted person to person through contact with contaminated objects, or swallowing contaminated food or water. The usual symptom of the disease is watery diarrhea, which may be accompanied by stomach ache, nausea and vomiting, fever and a general sick feeling.
To avoid contracting the disease, health department officials recommend:
· Don't swallow pool water. Avoid getting water in your mouth. Practice good hygiene. Shower with soap before swimming and wash hands after using the toilet or changing diapers and before eating or preparing food.
· Take kids on bathroom breaks and check diapers often. Change diapers in a bathroom or a diaper-changing area and not at poolside. Germs can be spread to surfaces and objects in and around the pool.
· Wash children thoroughly (especially their rear ends) with soap and water before swimming. Invisible amounts of fecal matter can end up in the pool.
For more information, visit the CDC Link at: www.cdc.gov/crypto/epi.html.
Tom Blakey 366-3540 tblakey@normantranscript.com
