Healthy Swimming & Recreational Water Home

Education and Information for Health Professionals

on Healthy Swimming and Recreational Water

These materials have been designed for health professionals to be used for training, outbreak investigations, advocacy, and laboratory diagnosis.

Information for State and Local Health Departments

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Information for Pediatricians and Healthcare Professionals

These articles were written to inform pediatricians about recreational water illnesses (RWIs). They also advise healthcare professionals to instruct parents to keep their children out of recreational water while they are ill with diarrhea.

Talk to Patients About Recreational Water Health Risks
Medscape: CDC Expert Commentary
(provided with permission by Medscape)
Recreational Water Illness: What Every Clinician Needs to Know
Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) Podcast
(Continuing Education Credits Available)
Swimmer's Ear a Mild but Burdensome Illness
(provided with permission by the American Academy of Pediatrics)
CDC Dives into Swimmer's Ear Prevention
(provided with permission by the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery)
Safe Swimming: Talk to Parents about Preventing Recreational Water Illnesses [PDF - 152 kb]
(reprinted with permission from the American Academy of Pediatrics)
Prevention of Recreational Water Illnesses (in Children) [PDF - 534 kb]
(reprinted with permission from SLACK Incorporated)
Hydrotherapy Tank and Pool Operation in Healthcare Facilities

Additional reference:

Castor ML, Beach MJ. (2004). Reducing illness transmission from disinfected recreational water venues: Swimming, diarrhea, and the emergence of a new public health concern. Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal 23:866-870.

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Laboratory Diagnostic Assistance on Parasitic Diseases

The Division of Parasitic Diseases offers reference, training, and diagnostic assistance for state and local health department laboratorians through DPDx.

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