The crisp, cool water of this summer is delicious. It pitter-patters on your face and quenches your sizzling skin.
If you find yourself at a children's splash pad, the soothing spray could quickly turn to a sickening spew, as the drips and drops may be doused with disease-causing organisms. If you accidentally ingest one of the patters, you could be transformed into a fecal fountain.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned about that. The agency published a report this week about two GIDs linked to a single recreational splash pad. At least 27 people were affected by the two outbreak in June of 2021. The common risk of such facilities, which are often unregulated, is highlighted by the outbreak in Kansas.
Splash pads don't usually include areas with standing water. Splash pads may be exempt from public health codes because they don't always meet the local, state, territorial, or tribal definition of anaquatic venue. They are not always required to treat the water with germ- killing chemicals.
AdvertisementIt's possible that the water spurting out of those jets could have been diverted through a swim diaper. A revolting reality is what this is. Over the years, the CDC has recorded a number of such outbreaks. Small children have poor hygiene and toileting skills and relish sitting and standing on jets, which can rinse poop off your butt. The fecal-oral route is completed by small children in a record time.
The authors of the new report, written by CDC and Kansas health officials, cited a 2010 study that documented children's splash-pad behavior and found "children wearing diaper, sitting on water jets, and placing their open mouths to the water."
When the water gets aerosolized, it depletes the free chlorine concentration, making it harder to maintain the concentration needed to prevent disease spread.
According to the report on the two Kansas outbreak, the splash pad involved was in a wildlife park where people could visit exhibits of animals before they went into the water sprays. On June 11, there was an outbreak of shigellosis, a disease caused by the Shigellabacteria.
The only known animal that has Shigella is non human primate. The outbreak was not related to touching or feeding the lemurs, investigators found. People get sick when they play in the splash pad and get splash pad water in their mouths. Three sick children had to be hospitalized.
AdvertisementOn June 18 there was a new outbreak with the snoozing bug. People between the ages of 1 and 38 were affected by the outbreak. The people got water in their mouths while playing in the splash pads.
That was not the only thing. In the days after the first outbreak, investigators identified more cases of acute gastrointestinal illnesses in people who visited the park, but they didn't have laboratory data to link them to the second outbreak. The splash pad was shut down on June 19 after 63 gastrointestinal illnesses were reported.
The splash pads' workings were found to have some concerning features that could explain the outbreak.
Water stood in the collection tank (into which water drains after spraying users and before it is filtered, disinfected, and resprayed) overnight instead of being continuously recirculated, filtered, and chlorinated. The splash pad did not have an automated controller to measure and help maintain the free chlorine concentration needed to prevent pathogen transmission. In addition, no staff member had documentation of having completed standardized operator training.
Three of the seven pumps used to feed water into splash pads were found to have gastrointestinalbacteria in them.
The wildlife park addressed the health investigator's findings after the splash pad was shut down. No illnesses were found after the splash pad reopened.
The report's authors concluded that exempting splash pads from regulation should be reconsidered.
Simple messages like "Don't stand or sit above the jets" can help prevent splashy outbreaks.
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