The Department of Health is urging people who have had diarrhoea not to enter any aquatic facility (including swimming pool, spa, spray park/interactive water feature) until at least two weeks after they have fully recovered.

The warning follows a substantial increase in cryptosporidiosis notifications – 195 cases have been reported to the Department since 1 January 2020, compared to an average of 63 cases for the same period in the previous five years.

The highest rate of infection is in children under five and most cases occurred in the Perth metropolitan area. As only a small proportion of people who contract the parasite are tested for it by a doctor, many cases are likely unreported.

Cryptosporidiosis is a diarrhoeal disease caused by a parasitic infection of the intestine, which is easily spread from person-to-person via swimming pools, waterparks, interactive fountains, and spas. The most common symptoms include diarrhoea, stomach cramps and sometimes fever, nausea and vomiting.

There is no specific treatment for the condition and symptoms may last a few weeks in some people. Although most illness is mild and self-limiting, certain groups are more at risk of severe illness if infected, including younger children, pregnant women and individuals with weakened immune systems.

The organism lasts for long periods in water and the environment and is not destroyed by regular chlorination. After exposure it can take up to 12 days to develop symptoms. Individuals are potentially infectious from the onset of symptoms until two weeks after becoming asymptomatic.

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