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The
following information about recreational water illnesses and ways to help
prevent them is for people who own, manage, operate, or work at pools,
waterparks, hot tubs, and spas.
How can
you protect swimmers from recreational water illnesses (RWIs) without
restricting access and enjoyment? Consider how pool operators deal with
other risks that have been identified at the pool. Problems that have
been on deck for years include drowning, injuries, bad weather, and blood
spills. Pool operators have adopted risk management strategies that rely
on state-of-the-art safety equipment and intensive training of staff.
Lifeguards are trained in drowning prevention, rescue, first aid, and
policies related to weather use and injury prevention. RWI prevention
is no different. It will take a combination of equipment and design improvements,
new thoughts on pool policies and management, and critical training and
education of staff.
Every aquatic facility is different with distinct priorities that have to be juggled on a daily basis while working within limitations on staff and resources. However, all aquatic facilities make safety and health a top priority. Making a choice to integrate an RWI protection plan into an existing facility risk management plan is the single greatest decision you can make to protect swimmers from RWIs. Take the lead, outline your vision, show your commitment to your staff, and put yourself at the forefront of the aquatics field. Decide that RWI protection is a priority; back it up with resource investment and commitment, and that will set the tone for the rest of the staff. Determine which of the Healthy Swimming recommendations are feasible to implement in your facility with available resources. Investing heavily after the outbreak occurs, a common occurrence, is great but it would have been better for the public’s health and more cost-effective if this were done before the outbreak occurred.
Building a communication bridge to your health department and other aquatic facilities is a great way to get information about other outbreaks occurring in your community. If you start to hear about outbreaks associated with other pools, daycares, schools, etc., where your swimmers attend, then take proactive measures and increase vigilance to protect your pool. Increase education of staff, swimmers, and visiting daycare groups. If a pool closes because of a suspected outbreak, that does not mean that all of the swimmers should descend on your pool without giving them some education about RWI prevention. Work with your health department to get the word out when a potential RWI outbreak is occurring. Remind them that one of the messages to send out whenever a diarrheal outbreak is occurring is “don’t swim when ill with diarrhea.” Use your communication networks and the media to alert patrons that they should not be swimming if they are ill with diarrhea. Protect your facility, make the contacts early, and build a communication network so that you are aware of the health status of your community at all times.
Maintaining pool water quality according to existing public health requirements will prevent the spread of most recreational water illnesses (RWIs).
Poster is available at www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming/posters.htm
They did it... Why
can’t you?
Some pools and waterparks have already started to redesign their facilities for the purpose of illness protection. If you are building a new waterpark, get feedback from your industry colleagues and public health experts about the safety and protection features you need to consider in the design stage. Pool designers will respond to you, their customer, if you are clear that your public health needs are a high priority and you consider it an investment in safe operations. Evaluate
your filtration system. Increasing the water turnover rates in kiddie pools may decrease the length of time that swimmers are exposed to contaminating germs. This decision needs to be made in collaboration with your state and local regulators and design consultants to avoid causing suction injuries. This may require installation of antivortex drain covers (with no top openings and automatic cut-off valves) or other technology. When it comes to the spread of some illnesses, filtration can help but, remember it takes substantial time to completely filter the pool. Evaluate
your form of disinfection. They look promising. Seek out the experts for the latest information but keep in mind that you are still going to need some residual disinfectant in the pool when using ozone and UV. Dropping disinfectant in the pool may put swimmers at greater risk if the pool becomes contaminated. Evaluate your hygiene facilities
(toilets, diaper-changing stations, showers).
Even if you are not required to do so, have a written fecal accident response policy and keep records of all fecal accidents, chlorine and pH level measurements, and any major equipment repairs or changes. This may help you respond more efficiently to any problems. You may have little control over a toddler’s soiling your kiddie pool, but you do have control over how you document and respond to this occurrence. Also put policies in place for responding to vomiting and body fluid spills. Check your state and local codes for existing information or CDC’s Healthy Swimming website (www.healthyswimming.org) for guidance. Develop training materials for staff so that they can respond appropriately, document the response, and communicate to patrons why, under some circumstances, it is critical to close the pool for some period of time.
For detailed
disinfection guidelines go to:
In CDC’s parent interviews, parents uniformly said they change diapers at poolside because changing rooms were unclean, poorly maintained, and/or had inadequate diaper-changing facilities. Here are some questions that you could ask to improve your facilities:
If possible, address these issues in the design phase. Ask your patrons for feedback. Your pool will continue to be used as a restroom if you are not proactive in assuring that patrons have what they want. If your facility is large enough, determine the utility of hiring a person just to maintain the restrooms or consider remodeling your diaper-changing stations. Both improvements may be good investments if they increase the number of parents and children who use them. Install diaper-changing cabanas with soap and running water close by the kiddie pools. This is a great way to discourage parents from changing diapers on tables or lounge chairs. It can also help mothers who are also keeping an eye on other kids. Although difficult, keep pushing to get swimmers to shower (yes, a soap and water, back-end shower) before using the pool. Dirt, sweat, and fecal matter should go down the drain, not into your pool. Train staff to recognize risky behavior such as changing a child on public tables or chairs. Have them educate patrons about why this is a health risk.
CDC hopes to heighten awareness about the transmission of recreational water illnesses (RWIs). Parents will continue to want to see regular chlorine testing and appropriate disinfection following fecal accidents. Therefore, why not reduce fecal accidents by helping parents get their children to the bathroom by scheduling an hourly break for disinfectant testing and bathroom use? Staff should let patrons know that this break provides optimal timing for bathroom use. Additionally, to prevent transmission of germs, you should ensure that the bathrooms are clean, that they are stocked with toilet paper, and that they have ample soap for hand washing. If parents ask, tell them this policy not only reduces fecal contamination but also should reduce the amount of urine in the pool that uses up disinfectant that could be killing germs. All of the combined chlorine that stings patrons' eyes and brings in complaints could be reduced if patrons start urinating in the restroom rather than in the pool.
If you allow large groups of diaper/toddler-aged children in the pool (e.g. from daycare centers) consider:
Consider providing signage in a conspicuous location before pool entry. Rotate this information and keep it updated. The sign might state:
Encourage swimmers to shower with soap and water before entering the pool. This could reduce the risk of pool contamination by removing invisible fecal matter from their bottoms. A quick rinsing over a swimsuit with cold water will not do much good. Facility staff, managers, and home pool owners should consider having hot water available in shower facilities used by swimmers. Post your last pool inspection report and let your customers know you intend to do your part to protect their health. Restaurants do it and many people choose to patronize the "best performers." The recreational water sector is not the only group that needs to participate in the educational process. Parents have told CDC that they would like to receive this message from various sources before they arrive at the pool. Public health officials have already begun to educate swimmers by making prevention messages available to the general public.
The best advice is to be prepared. If an outbreak does occur, are you ready? Do you have a plan? Most pool staff already have a risk management plan for injuries and drowning, but many do not have plans for managing a recreational water illness (RWI) outbreak.
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This page last reviewed June 4, 2003 |
Division
of Parasitic Diseases |