A new outbreak of the brain-attacking amoeba Naegleria fowleri claimed the lives of ten victims in Karachi, Pakistan this year, according to an October 10 CNN report. Tests of the city’s water supply found either no chlorine or insufficient chlorine levels in 22 percent (198 of 900) of samples taken around Karachi. Officials linked the
Last week, musician, composer and radio talk show host John Tesh tweeted the finding from a recent Water Quality & Health Council survey that one in five swimmers admit to “peeing in the pool”. Tesh warns, “If you smell chlorine, stay out”. I appreciate the fact that Tesh raised this subject and respectfully submit that his tweet needs a tiny tweak.
Oh, the power of suggestion of running water…the overwhelming sense of urgency elicited. The little boy in this year’s TaxACT Super Bowl XLVI commercial is in the family swimming pool when he realizes he has to go! He tries to do the right thing: He leaves the pool and dashes through the house in search
Last summer a family-owned farm in Colorado became the focal point of the largest foodborne illness outbreak in the US in 25 years. Tragically, cantaloupe contaminated with Listeria bacteria sickened 146 people in 28 states, killed 30 and caused one pregnant woman to miscarry, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The
“Swimmers shouldn’t have to flip a coin to determine if the pool they are swimming in is healthy”. These words, from Chris Wiant, PhD, Chair of the Water Quality and Health Council, reflect the results of the Council’s 2011 Healthy Pools Campaign in which swimmers tested their pool waters for pH and free chlorine values.
As summer draws to a close, a recent Wall Street Journal article examines the popularity, costs and sales of various swimming pool disinfection technologies. The article compares traditional swimming pool chlorination with alternative germ-destruction technologies, including “saltwater pools,” ozone gas and ultraviolet radiation. Some swimmers interviewed for the article expressed a preference for pools that
Children who are not potty trained are no longer allowed in public pools in four Kentucky counties. In addition, swimmers who have had diarrhea must not venture into pools for two weeks after diarrhea has subsided. The Northern Kentucky Health Department set new restrictions for all public pools in response to a recent Shigella outbreak
It’s nearing the end of May, which means: it’s time to get back into the water! Yes, pool season unofficially starts Memorial Day weekend and there is nothing more fun than spending a day at the pool. But before diving in, it may be a good idea to know just what you are diving into.
Swimming is appreciated the world over as a healthful, fun-filled activity. That was a solid point of agreement among international swimming pool experts who gathered in Portugal last month for the Fourth International Conference on Swimming Pools and Spas. The researchers also agreed on another point: Swimmer hygiene education is badly needed to reduce pool
Wisconsin is about to roll the dice on public health by rolling back a state rule requiring municipal governments to disinfect drinking water [GOP proposes rollback of mandatory disinfection for drinking water]. The current rule protects the safety of drinking water for 12 percent of Wisconsin’s municipal water supply systems in some of the state’s