CDC: Poop in pools is more common than previously thought
05 Jun CDC: Poop in pools is more common than previously thought
CDC: Poop in pools is more common than previously thought
From Examiner.com
CDC: Poop in pools; A new report from investigators at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals that poop in pools is more common than previously thought. The L.A. Times report on May 16, states that the CDC joined with state and local public health departments last summer in a mission to gather samples from pool filters at over 100 pools in the metro-Atlanta area. The samples taken were from public pools, private clubs and water parks.
According to the report, CDC researchers discovered high amounts of genetic material from E. coli bacteria in 58 percent of public pools they tested during the summer of 2012.
This research report showed that “swimmers frequently introduced fecal material into pools,” which could transfer germs to other people. E. coli bacteria lives in the digestive tracts of humans and is mainly found in feces, Web Md explains.
When swimmers “poop” in the water, the E. coli bacteria enters the water. Another possible way the E. coli is transferred to the water is when swimmers fail to properly rinse off before entering the pool, the agency said.
The only good thing to come from the study is that out of the samples tested, none contained E. coli O157:H7, the severe strain responsible for many cases of foodborne illness and often causes severe, acute hemorrhagic diarrhea.
Most people think they are safe due to the chlorine in the water, however chlorine doesn’t kill germs instantly, said the CDC’s Michele Hlavasa, adding that swimmers should always shower before entering the pool and take care not to swallow too much pool water.
And most importantly, swimmers should refrain from pooping in the water.
“It is time to stop treating the swimming pool as a toilet,” Hlavasa told NBC News. “Nowhere else except for the pool is it acceptable to poop in public or pee in public. In other places if we did this in public, we’d be arrested.”