Top in ID: Splash pads tied to waterborne illnesses; lessons learned from pandemics
A CDC study found that splash pads, or water playgrounds, have been linked to more than 10,000 cases of preventable waterborne illness between 1997 and 2022.
The study cited Cryptosporidium, a germ found in the feces of infected people or animals, as the main cause of the 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,” Hannah Lawinger, MPH, an epidemiologist in the CDC’s Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch, told Healio.
It was the top story in infectious disease last week.
In another top story, Anthony S. Fauci, MD, and his former chief of staff Gregory K. Folkers, MPH, MS, wrote a new paper discussing the lessons learned from both the HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 pandemics.
Read these and more top stories in infectious disease below:
Splash pads linked to thousands of preventable waterborne illnesses
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. Read more.
Fauci: HIV, COVID-19 pandemics taught us to ‘expect the unexpected’
Despite being decades apart, the HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 pandemics shared many lessons that can be applied to future pandemics and health emergencies, Anthony S. Fauci, MD, and his former chief of staff wrote in a new paper. Read more.
Child in California with suspected bird flu drank raw milk, officials say
A child in California suspected to have highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza consumed raw milk before experiencing symptoms, officials said. Read more.
2024 ID fellowship match reverses post-pandemic declines, officials say
The number of physicians who matched in adult and pediatric infectious diseases this year improved slightly over 2023, signaling a potential boost to the specialties, officials said. Read more.
New medical conference will focus on antimicrobial resistance
A new annual medical conference will focus on the topic of antimicrobial resistance, according to an announcement from the Infectious Diseases Society of America and American Society for Microbiology. Read more.