{"id":40,"date":"2014-02-03T14:32:13","date_gmt":"2014-02-03T19:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mypoolsigns.com/blog\/?p=40"},"modified":"2024-07-08T07:34:46","modified_gmt":"2024-07-08T11:34:46","slug":"knowing-gross-truth-swimming-save-sickness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mypoolsigns.com/blog\/knowing-gross-truth-swimming-save-sickness\/","title":{"rendered":"Knowing this gross truth about swimming could save you from illness"},"content":{"rendered":"

In early January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a> released a little-noted\u00a0report<\/a> on recreational water illness outbreaks that every swimmer should know about. Recreational water illness happens when a swimmer ingests a pathogen from the water and becomes ill. Often, a few swimmers become sickened by the same pathogen. When that happens, the CDC calls it an outbreak.<\/p>\n

Sometimes these pathogens aren\u2019t too serious. They cause intestinal distress or rashes, often without the victim even knowing they\u2019ve been sickened. But RWIs can be much more serious, leading to hospitalization and even death.<\/p>\n

In 2009-2010<\/a>, the latest available CDC statistics, 1,326 people were infected and 62 were hospitalized due to an RWI. The CDC says those statistics are probably on the low side, due to inefficient or incomplete reporting. (Happily, there were no known deaths in that time period.)<\/p>\n