By Pam Mellskog
The Daily Times-Call
LONGMONT ó Tossing cow pies in a public pool after hours seemed like fun for somebody in CaÒon City several summers back.
The culprit likely hoped the fecal patties floating like ugly lily pads overnight would shock and disgust pool staff and swimmers.
But the prank backfired and created the worst outbreak of cryptosporidium ó ìcryptoî for short ó in recent Colorado history, said Glenn Bodnar, a drinking water expert with years of swimming pool experience at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
State regulations mandate public pools to filter all their water, which could be tens of thousands of gallons, at least once every six hours.
That process, he said, dissolved the offending fecal flotsam in the CaÒon City pool by the time the doors opened. However, the pool water that day was still teeming with crypto, Bodnar said.Continue Reading Balancing Act: To disinfect, pools must have the right amount of chlorine, ph levels

April 20, 2005
KidsHealth.org
Named after the Japanese scientist Shiga who discovered it in 1897, Shigella is a type of bacteria that infects the intestinal tract. Four different groups of Shigella can affect humans, with some causing a mild illness and others a more severe one.
About 18,000 cases of Shigella infection are diagnosed each year in the United States, but many more go unreported because they involve only mild symptoms and sometimes no symptoms at all. The infection is most common during the summer months. Shigella rarely infects infants younger than 6 months old, but it is common in children 2 to 4 years old, especially those in child care.
Signs and Symptoms
Shigella can cause a spectrum of illnesses. Some people with a mild case have only loose watery stools, and a few may not have any symptoms at all. Others go on to develop a more severe disease known as dysentery, with abdominal cramps, high fever, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, which may contain mucus and blood. Some children with severe cases of Shigella infection may need to be hospitalized. The most common complication is dehydration (an abnormally low level of fluid in the body). Rarely, Shigella bacteria can affect other organs in the body aside from the digestive tract. This can lead to arthritis, skin rashes, kidney failure, or neurological problems such as seizures, stiff neck, headache, lethargy, confusion, and hallucinations.Continue Reading Shigella Infections