Over the 4th of July holiday, many Americans will get together for picnics, barbeques, and other gatherings. For many, food will take center stage, and hopefully proper food safety practices will ensure that in the days following these gatherings people will not be doubled-over in pain, running to and from the bathroom because of something
waterpark outbreaks
CDC Releases Report on Cryptosporidium Outbreak at Splash Park
This week’s MMWR includes a report by the CDC on an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis at a "splash park" in Idaho in 2007. Cryptosporidiosis is the illness caused by the protozoan cryptosporidium. According to the CDC:
Symptoms of cryptosporidiosis generally begin 2 to 10 days (average 7 days) after becoming infected with the parasite. The most
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Illness traced to New York waterpark
Debra Goldschmidt of CNN reports that more than 2,000 people in 24 New York counties have shown symptoms of a gastrointestinal illness traced to a water attraction at the Seneca Lake State Park in upstate New York, state health officials said Monday.
State and private laboratories have confirmed 39 cases of cryptosporidiosis, a diarrheal disease caused by the parasite cryptosporidium, said Robert Kenny, spokesman for the New York State Department of Health. Reports were still coming in, and health officials are focusing on trying to stop the outbreak from spreading, he said.
Health investigators have linked the cases to the park’s sprayground — an 11,000 square-foot play area with water jets that visitors can walk or run through to get relief from the summer heat.
The state parks department closed the sprayground August 15 after the health department notified managers that they had linked reports of illness to the attraction.Continue Reading Illness traced to New York waterpark
746 fall ill after visit to fun spot
Jack Jones of the Democrat and Chronicle reports that the number of people sickened after visiting The Spraypark water sports playground at Seneca Lake State Park has risen to 746 in an eight-county area.
The park has been closed since Monday as a precaution after health officials identified it as the possible link between a suspected bacterial infection that has caused gastrointestinal illness in people who had visited the park, said Wendy Gibson, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
The possible contamination was reported by an unidentified day care center after at least one child fell ill following a field trip to the park. The cases, by county, are as follows: Ontario, 309; Seneca, 130; Wayne, 97; Monroe, 75; Cayuga, 56; Livingston, 50; Onondaga, 24; and Tompkins, 5.Continue Reading 746 fall ill after visit to fun spot
Outbreak at Seneca Lake water park
13WHAM-TV reports that the number of stomach illnesses linked to the sprayground water park at Seneca Lake Park in Geneva has grown to 800 cases; about 100 of those cases are children from Monroe County; others are from surrounding counties, other states, Mexico, and Canada.
On Wednesday, the state announced that the sprayground part of the park was closed for the season.
Officials are still testing water from the spray park and the filtration system and from the lake to determine what made people sick. The Ontario County Health Department is urging anyone with a sick child who had visited the spray park to see their doctor and report the illness.
Most of those who are sick are children who played in the park and ingested the water. Their parents said they thought it was simply a case of the stomach flu, until they heard about the other illnesses.Continue Reading Outbreak at Seneca Lake water park