The Chester County (Pennsylvania) Department of Health closed a pool located at West Chester University after swimmers and pool staffers became ill with gastrointestinal symptoms. According to the health department, the illnesses may be the result of contact with Cryptosporidium, Giardia or norovirus.
A 3-year-old who swam at the pool has tested positive for the parasite, Cryptosporidium, while another child has Giardia, both of which are parasites spread by water contaminated by human or animal feces. The health department official said pool water also has been found to contain norovirus.
The most common symptom of cryptosporidiosis, the illness caused by Cryptosporidium, is watery diarrhea, but an infected individual may also experience stomach cramps, nausea and vomiting, fever, dehydration and weight loss.
The director of personal health services for the Chester County Department of Health, Betsy Wells, said that it is more common to encounter these parasites in lakes and ponds, but that they can be found in pools as well.
“Parasites are a lot harder to kill off and much heavier chlorination is needed for a longer period of time and nobody in the pool,” she said.
If you or a loved one has been harmed by a waterborne parasite, and you have a question about your legal rights, please call us toll free at 1-877-934-6274 for a free case evaluation, or click on free case evaluation to submit your questions. For more information about Cryptosporidium, visit the pages “About Cryptosporidium” and “Common Symptoms and Complications.” For information about Giardia, visit the blog www.giardialawsuit.com. To learn more about the Law Firm of Eric H. Weinberg, which sponsors these and other websites about food poisoning and waterborne illnesses, please visit www.erichweinberg.com. For more information about noroviruses, please visit the page “Noroviruses Food Poisoning” on the website www.foodpoisoning.com.
July 17th, 2007
Approximately 3500 people who became ill after visiting the Seneca Lake State Park Spray Park in Geneva, New York, during the months of July and August, 2005, have until September 7, 2007, to join a class action lawsuit brought by attorneys against the State of New York Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The suit was filed in September, 2005.Thousands of Spray Park visitors came down with cryptosporidiosis, an illness caused by contact with the parasite Cryptosporidium. The outbreak led the state health department to close the Spray Park on August 15, 2005, after discovering evidence of the parasite in the holding tanks that were used to recycle the park’s water.
The almost 4000 cases reported in 35 New York counties led to several hospitalizations. Cryptosporidiosis often causes watery diarrhea, but other symptoms may include stomach cramps, nausea and vomiting, and fever. Water parks can be fertile territory for Cryptosporidium.
For more information about Cryptosporidium, please visit the pages “About Cryptosporidium” and “Common Symptoms and Complications.” For information about other waterborne and foodborne illnesses, please visit the website www.foodpoisoning.com.
July 14th, 2007
Symptoms and Complications
Symptoms of Cryptosporidiosis may include stomach cramps or pain, watery diarrhea (the most common symptom), fever, nausea, vomiting, dehydration, malaise, malnutrition and weight loss (in more severe cases).
Symptoms may occur 2 to 10 days (on average 7 days) after infection and usually last from 1 to 2 weeks. In some cases, symptoms may come and go, with individuals beginning to feel better only to have symptoms return before the illness finally ends.
Some individuals with Cryptosporidiosis are asymptomatic, meaning that they do not exhibit symptoms at all. Cryptosporidium usually infects the small intestines, although it can cause infections to other areas of the digestive or the respiratory tracts.
The young, pregnant women, and the elderly are more likely to suffer dehydration as a result of diarrhea and are advised to drink plenty of fluids while ill. Individuals with weakened immune systems may suffer more severe symptoms that can lead to serious or life-threatening illness.
Free Case Evaluation
The Law Firm of Eric H. Weinberg currently represents victims of food poisoning outbreaks throughout the country. If you or a family member have suffered from Cryptosporidiosis, and you have a question about your legal rights, you can request a free case evaluation from our firm. You may also contact us toll free at 1-877-934-6274. To learn more about Cryptosporidium, food poisoning, and food poisoning law, please visit www.foodpoisoning.com.
The information contained on this page has been gathered from the websites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and other sources in the public domain.
July 3rd, 2007
Cryptosporidiosis is an infection caused by the parasite Cryptosporidium parvum.
Cryptosporidium is a common cause of both foodborne and waterborne disease in the United States. Healthcare professionals may also refer to the parasite and its disease as “crypto” or “crypto infection.”
Symptoms may include stomach cramps or pain, watery diarrhea (the most common symptom), fever, nausea, vomiting, dehydration, malaise, malnutrition and weight loss (in more severe cases). Symptoms may occur 1 to 10 days after infection and will last for approximately 2 weeks in healthy individuals. Symptoms can be much more severe and even life-threatening in the immuno-compromised.
Cryptosporidium infection occurs when an individual eats food, drinks water, or comes into contact with surfaces or objects contaminated by the parasite or its oocysts (a dormant stage in which the parasite is resistant to many adverse environmental conditions allowing it to survive outside the body). Cryptosporidium lives in the intestines of infected people or animals and is excreted in feces. Infection, therefore, is the fecal to oral route.
Common ways of contracting Cryptosporidiosis include: eating uncooked food contaminated with Cryptosporidium; swallowing contaminated recreational water (e.g., pools, spray parks, ponds) or drinking water; or putting objects or fingers in the mouth that have come into contact with the feces of an infected person or animal or a contaminated surface.
To diagnose Cryptosporidiosis, your doctor will ask you to provide a stool sample, which will be examined for the presence of the Cryptosporidium parasite and its oocysts. You may be asked to provide several samples since detecting the parasite or its oocysts can be difficult.
For more information, please refer to Symptoms and Complication of Cryptosporidiosis.
July 2nd, 2007
What I have learned in well over two decades spent in the pursuit of justice for injured clients is that knowledge is power. Getting the facts about waterborne and foodborne illnesses caused by Cryptosporidium and other parasites can help you protect yourself and your family.
That’s why I decided to create this blog. I hope it helps you to better understand the pathogen, Cryptosporidium, and to keep abreast of the latest news about outbreaks. I also hope that you become a frequent visitor to this site. Please let me know if there is any way in which I can help you as you navigate through the sometimes difficult and dangerous world of waterborne and foodborne illnesses.
For more information about food, water and consumer safety, also visit: www.foodpoisoning.com.
Thank you,
Eric H. Weinberg
Attorney
July 1st, 2007
Please visit the following food poisoning blogs sponsored by the Law Firm of Eric H. Weinberg:
To learn more about foodborne pathogens, food poisoning symptoms, and food poisoning outbreaks and food recalls:
www.foodpoisoning.com
To learn more about E. coli food poisoning and E. coli food poisoning symtoms:
www.ecolilawsuit.com
To learn more about Salmonella food poisoning and Salmonella food poisoning symtoms:
www.salmonellalawsuit.com
To learn more about Listeria food poisoning and Listeria food poisoning symtoms:
www.listeria.com
To learn more about botulism and botulism symptoms:
www.botulismlegalhelp.com
To learn more about Staphylolococcus (Staph) food poisoning and Staph food poisoning symptoms:
www.staphlawsuit.com
To learn more about Cryptosporidium food poisoning and Cryptosporidium waterborne illness:
www.cryptosporidiumlawsuit.com
To learn more about Giardia food poisoning and Giardia waterborne illness:
www.giardialawsuit.com
December 31st, 2006
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