Toddlers are being allowed back in public swimming pools in Northern Kentucky.
The Northern Kentucky Health Department had placed restrictions on toddlers who are not potty trained from using the pools June 3 after a Shigella outbreak. About 300 public pools in the region were affected.
On Thursday, the health department eased those restrictions aimed at limiting the spread of the illness.
There are still concerns that Shigella may continue to spread through child care centers, then to family members of young children.
The department says they’ve received 103 reports of Shigella in Boone, Campbell, Grant, and Kenton counties since April. There are typically only 25 or so cases in a year.
Shigella is a bacteria that infects the bowels, usually in children ages two to four. The Shigella bacteria causes an illness called Shigellosis. Symptoms include diarrhea, fever, stomach cramps, nausea or vomiting.