Illnesses you could catch while swimming, frolicking in water

Cases of recreational water illnesses (RWIs), which affect a person's stomach and intestines, skin or respiratory system, have risen over the past 20 years, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with reports of of diarrhea-causing RWIs increasing by as much as 200 percent since 2004.

People become infected with cryptosporidium, escherichia coli, shigella -- a contagious bacterial disease -- and giardia, a germ that can survive up to 45 minutes in properly chlorinated pools, when open wounds come into contact with infected water or if they swallow or inhale the water.

Public health officials from 32 states and Puerto Rico reported 90 recreational water-associated outbreaks for 2011 and 2012, the most recent years data was available, to the CDC's Waterbourne Disease and Outbreak Surveillance System.

Sixty-nine of the outbreaks involved treated recreational water. Of those cases, 36 were caused by cryptosporidium; and 21 were caused by escherichia coli, a rod-shaped bacterium. In total, 1,788 people were sicked, 95 were hospitalized and one person died.

Tyler Brock, Siouxland District Health Department deputy director, said abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting are classic signs of RWIs. 

"There's a variety of different pathogens, both bacteria and parasites, that can be caught in recreational waters -- swimming pools, lakes and other things. Ninety-nine percent of what we focus on is staying out of the pool when you've got stomach problems," he said.

Brock urges people to avoid recreational waters when they have diarrhea or vomiting. He said parents of toddlers should check their child's diaper often and take them to the bathroom regularly when swimming and frolicking in the water.