Water park closed, parasites in water

Operators of a Minnesota water park say they voluntarily closed the park for a day after tests by health officials linked it to a waterborne diarrheal disease. The outbreak of cryptosporidiosis and the parasite that causes it, cryptosporidium was traced to the Edgewater Resort and Water Park, which shut down Monday to super-chlorinate the water and kill off the parasites, the Duluth (Minn.) News Tribune reported Wednesday. The park reopened Tuesday. Trisha Robinson, an epidemiologist for the Minnesota Department of Health specializing in waterborne diseases, said Tuesday three cases of cryptosporidiosis had been confirmed and six more were suspected in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The cases involve children and adults who visited the water park in March but there may be many more cases going unreported, Robinson said. "For every confirmed case, there's usually 98.6 additional cases. It is certainly possible and very probable that there are additional people who are ill out there," Robinson said. "There could be people who may have not shown symptoms yet." Robinson pressed the point that a person stays infectious for two weeks after symptoms disappear. "If you currently have diarrhea or have had diarrhea within the past two weeks, we do not want you going into any type of recreational water facility," she said.