Britain is plagued by a… Poo-Nami! “Unprecedented” outbreak of diarrhea-causing parasite that can spread in swimming pools worries health authorities

The UK is currently being hit by an “unprecedented” outbreak of a parasite that causes diarrhoea.

Cases of cryptosporidia, which can survive in swimming pools for up to a week, are now three times higher than normal.

Health authorities are still confused about the cause of the outbreak, which has spread to all parts of the country.

However, initial studies suggest that the increase is related to swimming, including in swimming pools.

Officials investigating the unusual cluster of cryptosporidium cases believe it may be linked to holidays abroad, as dozens of ill Britons traveled to Spain and other Mediterranean countries.

In addition to diarrhea, cryptosporidium can also cause vomiting, stomach pain, and fever.

The chlorine-resistant parasite is spread by contaminated faeces that enter the mouth while swimming, for example.

Traces of dried feces can wash down the anus of an infected swimmer.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), infected people can pass up to 100 million cryptosporidia germs in one stool.

Swallowing just 10 of them is enough to make you sick.

READ MORE: Deadly ‘eye-bleeding virus’ first discovered in FRANCE amid fears tick-borne disease could soon bring Britain home

French health authorities have discovered the deadly tick-borne disease Crimean-Congo fever in animals

An investigation into the outbreak by Britain’s health regulator UKHSA found that the increase in August was due to an increase in the number of routine stool samples for analysis of Cryptosporidium infections.

Since then, 2,411 cases have been detected in the UK.

The number of weekly reports peaked at 450 at the end of September – three times what would normally be expected.

Officials suspect that even these figures underestimate the actual number of Britons infected, with many showing symptoms without seeking treatment.

UKHSA experts wrote about the outbreak in the journal Eurosurveillance: “Given the scale and geographical distribution of the residue across regions and countries in the UK, a single local exposure is an unlikely cause.”

A survey of nearly 500 patients distributed by health authorities to determine the cause of the outbreak found that 54 percent of those infected had been abroad two weeks before the first symptoms.

Of the 215 cases for which more detailed travel information was available, almost half reported travel to mainland Spain or islands such as Mallorca and Ibiza.

Two-thirds went swimming before observant symptoms appeared.

“Our initial findings suggest that swimming (in the UK or abroad), including the use of swimming pools, and traveling abroad to various destinations may be the reason for the current increase,” they wrote.

But other possible causes for the “unprecedented and sustained nationwide increase in cases” cannot be ruled out, the team said.

“At this stage, it cannot be ruled out that other sources, such as contaminated food, contribute to the excess,” they wrote.

The experts added that they are running a public health awareness campaign urging the public not to use swimming pools when cryptosporidium symptoms appear and also for 14 days after the signs of illness disappear, as they can still infect others.

They also added that they were working with their EU equivalent, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, to help them further investigate the causes of the outbreak.

For most people, cryptosporidiosis – the technical name for the infection – is mild.

It usually goes away on its own within a few days or weeks without treatment.

However, it can be more serious for people at risk, such as those with weakened immune systems, the elderly or patients undergoing cancer treatment.

Due to the high risk of infection, people with symptoms such as diarrhea and/or vomiting are advised not to stay at work or school until they have been free of these symptoms for at least 48 hours.