Rigby’s Water World Closed Due to Guest with Diarrhea Parasite

WARNER ROBINS, Georgia (WMGT/41NBC) – Rigby’s Water World closed for several days due to a child visiting the water park and testing positive for the parasite that causes the diarrheal disease cryptosporidiosis.

According to the park’s Facebook page, the child visited the water park on July 29th. The park reopened on Saturday, August 11th as approved by the Health Department.

Cryptosporidium is a microscopic parasite present in human feces. And it can be transmitted through recreational water. It also has a resistance to normal Chlorine levels.

Rigby’s says it is working closely with the Health Department to review the facility and conduct water testing.

A statement on Facebook, goes on to say, “We voluntarily remained closed the rest of the week and took extreme measures, as recommended by the CDC, to inactivate any parasites that may have been present in the water by increasing our Chlorine levels to over 20 parts per million (10 times normal operating levels) in all of our pools and maintaining that level for more than 13 hours.”

The statement also reads, “Safety will continue to be our number one priority at Rigby’s Water World, and we will continue to work to create a safe and exciting aquatic experience for our guests.”

The park also urges guests not to swim if they have diarrhea in the past two weeks, avoid swallowing the pool water, take bathroom breaks often and take cleansing showers before entering the water.

According to the CDC, the Cryptosporidium parasite can be spread in several different ways, but water (drinking water and recreational water) is the most common way to spread the parasite. The parasite is protected by an outer shell that allows it to survive outside the body for long periods of time and makes it very tolerant to chlorine disinfection. Cryptosporidium is a leading cause of waterborne disease among humans in the United States.

Symptoms of cryptosporidiosis generally begin 2 to 10 days (average 7 days) after becoming infected with the parasite. The most common symptom of cryptosporidiosis is watery diarrhea. Other symptoms include stomach cramps or pain, dehydration, nausea, vomiting, fever and weight loss.