In June and July 2008, an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis with a total of at least 408 cases occurred in the municipality of Piran, Slovenia. The town has 17,400 inhabitants and is located in touristic area on the Slovenian Adriatic coast. The first 20 cases were reported on 26 June to regional Institute of Public Health Koper (IPH Koper). Preliminary interviews indicated that the only common source of exposure was the local water distribution system in Piran which supplies all inhabitants of the town. IPH Koper informed the local water distribution company on the same day, and control measures for containing the outbreak were implemented immediately ... In the outbreak, different pathogens were isolated from stool samples of patients. This is common in outbreaks caused by contamination of drinking water by sewage water. Several similar outbreaks in the United States in 2003/2004 were caused by different pathogens [3]. Between 1997 and 2007, 20 waterborne outbreaks were notified in Slovenia, with between five and 181 cases reported in each outbreak. More than half of those outbreaks were caused by contamination of drinking water from water supply systems. In twelve outbreaks where the causative agent was identified, the following agents were isolated: astrovirus, calicivirus, Cryptosporidium parvum, E. coli, hepatitis A virus, rotavirus and Shigella sonnei [4].

Phoenix city pools are closed indefinitely as aquatics staffers worked Tuesday to clean 29 facilities in response to a parasite that may have sickened 35 people. The cryptosporidium parasite, commonly known as a threat to recreationalists who accidentally ingest contaminated fresh water, was noted in stool samples submitted by two people who swam earlier this month at Starlight Pool at 78th Avenue and Osborn Road.

Ultra-violet light is being used to make a water bug at a Northamptonshire treatment works harmless. Anglian Water said the technology was a well-known cure for the cryptosporidium parasite affecting supplies to 250,000 of its customers in the county.

To identify the animal sources for Cryptosporidium contamination, we genotyped Cryptosporidium spp. in wildlife from the watershed of the New York City drinking water supply, using a small-subunit rRNA gene-based PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and DNA sequencing. A total of 541 specimens from 38 species of wildlife were analyzed. One hundred and eleven (20.5%) of the wildlife specimens were PCR positive. Altogether, 21 Cryptosporidium genotypes were found in wildlife samples, 11 of which were previously found in storm runoff in the watershed, and six of these 11 were from storm water genotypes of unknown animal origin. Four new genotypes were found, and the animal hosts for four storm water genotypes were expanded. With the exception of the cervine genotype, most genotypes were found in a limited number of animal species and have no major public health significance.

A major public health issue and economic problem has been addressed in experiments carried out by researchers from the University Denis Diderot in Paris, and the VEOLIA Research Center in Maisons-Laffitte (France). Extremely chlorine-resistant parasites, known as Cryptosporidium, which cause a diarrheal disease in humans and can lead to significant mortality in immunodeficient patients, become virtually inactive when exposed to industrial UV reactors. Human contamination of this waterborne disease, known as cryptosporidiosis, occurs by ingestion of the resistant form of the parasite, either directly through person-to-person and animal-to-person routes or indirectly through environmental vehicles including water, food or soil. Contamination of water resources for drinking water supplies, as well as inadequate water treatment can be responsible for large cryptosporidiosis outbreaks. Up until now, there has been no efficient curative treatment, making it one of the most common causes of waterborne disease within humans in the United States.

The parasites that cause the sickness resist chlorine treatments and are now one of the most common causes of waterborne disease within humans in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Water is not the only way to spread them, and symptoms can include diarrhea, dehydration, weight loss, fever, vomiting and stomach cramps or pain.

Nearly 230 Idaho residents have been sickened by a waterborne parasite this year, along with hundreds of others across the Rocky Mountain West, health officials said. The cryptosporidium outbreak has reached record numbers, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare spokesman Tom Shanahan said, and has federal officials looking at the role water parks and public pools play in spreading the diarrhea-causing parasite. Since 1995, Idaho has averaged about 23 cryptosporidium cases a year, said Dr. Randall Nett, an epidemic intelligence officer with Idaho's Health and Welfare Department. But this year, 229 cases have been reported, the vast majority in the Boise and Meridian areas.