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Notice to Readers: Drownings in Recreational Water Settings
Memorial Day marks the beginning of the swimming and boating season. Drowning is a leading cause of
unintentional injury death for persons of all ages and is the second leading cause of death from injury among persons aged 1--14 years
(1). Many of these deaths occur in recreational water settings, including pools, spas/hot tubs, and natural water settings (e.g.,
lakes, rivers, or oceans). During 2003, a total of 3,386 deaths were attributed to unintentional drowning in recreational
water settings (2). During 2001--2002, an estimated 4,174 persons on average per year were treated in U.S. hospital
emergency departments for nonfatal unintentional drowning injuries* in recreational water settings
(3); approximately 53% of these persons required hospitalization or transfer for more specialized care. Fatal and nonfatal drowning rates were highest
for children aged <4 years and for males of all ages; 50% of fatalities and 56% of nonfatal drownings occurred during
June--August. Among children aged <4 years, 50% of fatalities and approximately 80% of reported nonfatal injuries occurred
in swimming pools; both fatal and nonfatal drownings in natural water settings increased with age.
To reduce the number of drownings, environmental protections (e.g., isolation pool fencing, weight-bearing pool
covers, and lifeguards) should be adopted. Alcohol use should be avoided while swimming, boating, or water skiing or
while supervising children; all participants, caregivers, and
supervisors should be knowledgeable regarding water-safety skills and
be trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
(4). Additional CDC recommendations to prevent drowning have
been published previously (3). Other agencies and organizations promoting water safety include the Consumer Product
Safety Commission (http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06164.html), Safe Kids Worldwide
(http://www.usa.safekids.org/water), and the National Drowning
Prevention Alliance (http://www.drowningpreventionalliance.com).
References
CDC. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS™). Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services,
CDC. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars.
Hoyert DL, Heron M, Murphy SL, Kung HC. Deaths: final data for 2003. Natl Vital Stat Rep 2006;54(13).
Quan L, Branche C. Interventions to prevent drowning [chapter 5]. In: Doll L, Bonzo S, Mercy J, Sleet D, eds. Handbook of injury
and violence prevention. New York, NY: Springer. In press 2006.
* In 2002, for statistical purposes, the World Congress on Drowning created the following definition for drowning: "the process of experiencing
respiratory impairment from submersion/immersion in liquid." This definition is used by the World Health Organization and the National Center for Injury Prevention
and Control at CDC, both of which categorize drownings as fatal (i.e., resulting in death) or nonfatal (i.e., not resulting in death).
Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services.References to non-CDC sites on the Internet are
provided as a service to MMWR readers and do not constitute or imply
endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. CDC is not responsible for the content
of pages found at these sites. URL addresses listed in MMWR were current as of
the date of publication.
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