Exposure to treated recreational water accounted for 35.1 percent of outbreaks, 56.7 percent of cases
FRIDAY, June 28, 2019 (HealthDay News) — From 2009 to 2017, there was an increase in the annual number of reported cryptosporidiosis outbreaks in the United States, according to a study published online June 27 in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Radhika Gharpure, D.V.M., from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and colleagues examined outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis for 2009 to 2017 for 40 states and Puerto Rico.
The researchers identified reports of 444 cryptosporidiosis outbreaks resulting in 7,465 cases. Overall, 35.1 percent of outbreaks, resulting in 56.7 percent of cases, were associated with exposure to treated recreational water (for example, in pools and water playgrounds). Contact with cattle (14.6 percent of outbreaks) and contact with infected persons in child care settings (12.8 percent of outbreaks) were also predominant outbreak exposures. Over time, there was an average increase of almost 13 percent in the annual number of reported cryptosporidiosis outbreaks.
“Reversing the increasing trends in annual numbers of reported cryptosporidiosis outbreaks overall and those associated with treated recreational water, contact with cattle, or contact with infected persons in child care settings will require implementing effective prevention measures,” the authors write.
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