Splash pads linked to thousands of preventable waterborne illnesses
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Key takeaways:
- More than 10,000 people got sick in outbreaks linked to water playgrounds between 1997 and 2022.
- The outbreaks are linked to children with poor toileting and hygiene skills, as well as recycled water.
Splash pads have been linked to more than 10,000 cases of preventable waterborne illness caused by bacteria or viruses over a 26-year period, according to a CDC study.
Also called water playgrounds, splash pads are designed to prevent water collection and minimize drowning risks among children aged 5 years or younger.
“We know from data collected between 1997 and 2022 that splash pads can be linked to waterborne illnesses, and that the main cause of those is Cryptosporidium, which is a germ found in the poop of infected people or animals,” Hannah Lawinger, MPH, an epidemiologist in the CDC’s Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch, told Healio. “This particular germ can tolerate chlorine, so it is difficult to prevent in recreational water venues like splash pads.”
Although splash pads offer a safer option for small children to play at water parks, experts have noted that poor toileting/hygiene skills combined with recycled and recirculated water is a recipe for illness.
Lawinger and colleagues analyzed data on 60 waterborne disease outbreaks associated with splash pads collected between 1997 — the year the first outbreaks were reported — and 2022. The outbreaks, which occurred in 23 states and Puerto Rico, caused more than 10,000 illnesses, 152 hospitalizations, 99 ED visits, but no deaths.
Among the 60 outbreaks, 21 were at splash pads with other water venues such as pools or hot tubs and 39 were in settings with only splash pads, according to the study. Nearly all the outbreaks — 95% — were reported between May and August.
Of 52 outbreaks for which the cause was confirmed by laboratory testing, 40 were caused by Cryptosporidium, five by Shigella, three by Escherichia coli O157:H7 and one each by Campylobacter jejuni, Giardia duodenalis, norovirus and Salmonella serotype Newport.
According to Lawinger, outbreak reports remained relatively steady over the study period, averaging fewer than five outbreaks per year — with the exception of 2007 and 2012, when nine and seven outbreaks were reported, respectively.
Lawinger and colleagues wrote that because chlorination is the primary method for disinfecting splash pad water, and Cryptosporidium in particular is tolerant to it, public health officials should promote safe use behaviors to help prevent outbreaks.
“Young children and their caregivers can prevent the spread of germs at splash pads by staying away from splash pads when sick with diarrhea, not sitting or standing on top of water jets and [by] not ingesting the water,” Lawinger said.
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