Joint Public Health Message 

Joint Public Health Message issued by KEHA (Kansas Environmental Health Association), KPHA(Kansas Public Health Association), and KALHD (Kansas Association of Local Health Departments)

 

Submitted by Keena Privat, KEHA President

 

The week of May 24–30, 2010 marked the sixth annual Recreational Water Illness (RWI) Prevention Week. This time of year is the ideal time to increase awareness of recreational water illnesses and healthy swimming practices in your community and reach out to public pool operators, beach managers, the media, residential pool owners, child care providers, and the public to initiate action.

 

This year’s RWI Prevention Week focused on pool inspections and the Triple A’s of Healthy Swimming (Awareness, Action, and Advocacy). Since August 2009, the Department of Health and Human Services had the privilege of collaborating with state and local partners on an analysis of 2008 pool inspection data for a Mortality and Morbidity Week Report (MMWR) to be published in May 2010. This article highlights violations in water chemistry, recirculation and filtration, and management, and is a follow-up to the popular 2002 pool inspection data MMWR. Both MMWRs highlight the importance of pool inspections and call for increased public health vigilance in overseeing pool code compliance.

 

HHS has been busy integrating the Healthy Swimming website (www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming) into CDC’s Healthy Water website (www.cdc.gov/healthywater). This change will allow individuals to access all water-related health information in one place. The integration of the Healthy Swimming content also includes updates that are designed to optimize usability and an attractive new site design. New resources for RWI Prevention Week 2010 included fact sheets for the public on Cryptosporidium,Giardia,Pseudomonas, Legionella, and MRSA. HHS received invaluable input from a few state and local partners on this effort and sincerely appreciate their help in making these fact sheets a useful resource for all of our partners. They would also like to bring your attention to our free English and Spanish-language brochures on Healthy Swimming behaviors and our poster on pool chemical safety. These items can be ordered on the Healthy Swimming website (www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming).

 

CDC’s Healthy Swimming Program is proud to continue the long-standing collaboration between epidemiologic and environmental health staff at the agency. Please let them know about the activities in your area that occurred related to RWI Prevention Week by sending emails to ehsb@cdc.gov. 

 

 

Additional information about Recreational Water Illness Prevention Week 2010 can be found at

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming/rwi_prevention_week.htm