It’s an obvious place to go with the family on a hot summer’s day, but new advice may put you off visiting the local swimming pool.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned that swallowing just one mouthful of swimming pool water can give you diarrhoea for three weeks.
The CDC tweeted a warning this week, writing: “Don’t swallow pool water! Just one mouthful of water with harmful germs can make you sick with diarrhoea for up to 3 weeks.”
On its website, the CDC explained that swimmers who have been sick with diarrhoea in the last two weeks risk contaminating pool water with germs.
It said: “Tiny amounts of faecal matter are rinsed off all swimmers’ bottoms as they swim through the water.
“That is why it is so important to stay out of the pool if you are sick with diarrhoea, shower before swimming, and avoid swallowing pool water.”
While public swimming pools usually have filtration and disinfection system in place, swimmers can still be exposed to germs during the time it takes for chlorine to kill germs, or for water to be recycled through filters.
And worryingly, many pool facilities use one filtration system across several pools, according to the CDC.
It said: “This causes water from various pools to mix and potentially spreads germs throughout connected pools in a very short amount of time.
“This means that a single diarrhoea incident from one person could contaminate water throughout a large pool system or waterpark.”
Based on the findings, the CDC is urging people to be more vigilant about their swimming habits.
It added: “We all share the water we swim in, so each of us plays an essential role in helping to protect ourselves, our families, and our friends from germs that can cause [recreational water illness].”
