Saturday, September 02, 2006

Fountains in San Jose, CA lost to cryptosporidium parasite.

San Jose Mercury New reports that, Health officials across the Bay Area acknowledged Friday that public fountains are not inspected for the dangerous microbes that sickened at least seven people who played in the water at San Jose's Plaza de Cesar Chavez.
A day after San Jose announced the closure of the popular downtown water feature because the city cannot assure its safety, it became clear that dozens of fountains in at least four counties are also falling through the regulatory cracks. And officials promised to move swiftly to close the gap -- although it is not clear what they need to do or how long it will take.
If you like bay area fountains or if you have kids who wants to play in those public fountains (who does not?) read the full article here.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention epidemiologist Dr. Michael Beach compared the water in the fountain to communal bathing water. He said the fountains are just like swimming pools.
``We've got a number of Cryptosporidium outbreaks going on across the country,'' he said.
In Alameda County, supervising environmental-health specialist Cynthia Bartus Jepsen said the latest outbreak will cause her agency, which has no records of fountains, to be far more proactive.
``Sometimes these parks install fountains and because there's no requirement for them to have a permit, we don't know about it,'' she said.

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