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Swimming Pools, Hot Tubs, and Other Summer Recreational Water Hazards
Is nothing safe anymore? Just in time for summer fun, the CDC announced an increase in infections from swimming pools and hot tubs. In their new Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), the CDC announced that cases of a parasite, cryptosporidium, had increased approximately 13 percent each year between 2009–2017, with 444 outbreaks reported in total. Cryptosporidium is a single-celled organism, a protozoan. It causes diarrhea that often lasts for two to three weeks and is readily missed by the lab. This is because often only a stool culture is ordered, and the parasites are instead seen on direct examination of stool through a microscope. Many community hospitals don’t have techs skilled…