The Alabama Department of Public Health continues its investigation of the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in Lee County. Six children who played in the Splash Park and Aquatic Center in Opelika between June 12 and June 18 have been identified with severe gastrointestinal illness as of Friday, June 24.
There have been problems with waterparks in the past:
Atlanta White Water Waterpark E. coli O157:H7 Litigation
In the summer of 1998, 26 children became ill from E. coli O157:H7 contracted while playing in the kiddie pool at White Water Park, a commercial water park in suburban Atlanta. Seven of those children were hospitalized and a 2-year-old girl died from Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, a kidney disorder caused by E. coli O157:H7.
Seneca Lake State Park Spraypark Cryptosporidium Litigation
During June, July, and August, 2005, nearly 4,000 people became ill with Cryptosporidiosis after visiting the spraypark at Seneca Lake State Park in New York. The New York State Health Department determined that the spraypark’s holding tanks were contaminated with Cryptosporidium, a parasite.