Two Wyndham pools were shut down on Friday after outbreaks of gastrointestinal infection Cryptosporidiosis.
AquaPulse and the Werribee outdoor pool were closed after Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) became aware that a number of people confirmed as infected with the crypto bug had swum at the pools while infectious.
The DHHS ordered Western Leisure Services, which manages both pools, to undertake ‘superchlorination’ at both AquaPulse and the Werribee outdoor pool.
Superchlorination involves adding extra doses of chlorine to water to speed up disinfection within a short period of time.
Jake Da Silva of Western Leisure Services said there was no evidence that either venue had any specific issues with pool water.
“All pools are all maintained and monitored within prescribed health regulations, however, as infected persons may have swum at the facilities, regulations require a precautionary superchlorination response,” Mr Da Silva said.
The Werribee outdoor pool reopened on Saturday morning and AquaPulse reopened on Sunday morning. DHHS spokesman Bram Alexander said the department had acted quickly on the crypto cases to reduce any chances it would spread to others.
“The cryptosporidium parasite is found in the faeces of humans, cattle and other animals. Swallowing even a few crypto in contaminated water can cause illness,” Mr Alexander said.
“Symptoms can be limited to nausea and abdominal pain, but can cause more serious problems for people whose immune system is already weakened by disease, as well as the elderly and young children.
“As a result the aquatic facilities involved were instructed to ‘superchlorinate’ their pools to kill any cryptosporidium that might be present. Superchlorination is the most effective treatment,” he said.
