A pool in Montgomery County shut down after officials learned someone who contracted a parasite had been swimming there will likely be reopened tomorrow, officials said.
Crestmont Pool in Willow Grove, Abington Township, was shut down by the Montgomery County Department of Health Tuesday afternoon after officials say they learned someone diagnosed with cryptosporidium parasite -- commonly called "crypto" -- swam there. They shut the pool down out of an abundance of caution, Abington Parks and Recreation Director Douglas Wendell told NBC10, and no cryptosporidium has been found in the pool's water.
"Our pool is maintained very well. We have weekly water testing, which has not even shown any fecal coliform, let alone cryptosporidium," Wendell said. "We've had no indication there's any cryptosporidium in our water at all, so we suspect this is an incident where the person came in with it."
Wendell said that as soon as the health department notified staff at the pool of the infection about 3 p.m. Tuesday, they began treating the water with extra chlorine -- 10 parts per million, as opposed to the usual two parts per million.
That range will be maintained for 25.5 hours, then the Health Department is expected to give the OK for the pool to reopen. He said he expects the pool will be ready to reopen by 11 a.m., its usual opening time, on Thursday.
Cryptosporidium, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is a parasite that causes diarrhea, stomach cramps and pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and weight loss. Diarrhea is the most common symptom, the CDC says, and most people who contract the infection get better within a week or two.
Crypto is most often found in water contaminated with human or animal feces.
