The Minnesota Health Department says three people have tested positive for cryptosporidium and another six cases are suspected -- all had recently been swimming at the Edgewater in Duluth in March.

Of those nine possibly affected, seven are kids and two are adults.

The Edgewater responded to concerns by closing pools and super chlorinating them to kill any parasite, ahead of getting water testing results back.

"Our pools are the cleanest, you know, that they've been because of the super chlorination, and we do take it very seriously and are very controlled about how often we test the water and what to do with issues," said Leanne Joynes of ZMC Hotels.

"The people should not be changing diapers at poolside. They should take a shower before and after swimming and that when they're swimming, they should take frequent bathroom breaks," said Trisha Robinson of the Minnesota Department of Health.

The Minnesota Department of Health is also investigating a pool facility in Brainerd for the same parasite, but did not say which one.

One person who swam there was confirmed to be infected, while two others are suspected.

So far, officials believe the cases in Duluth and Brainerd are not related.

A vaccine could be developed to prevent Campylobacter being carried in chickens according to an American scientist presenting his work at the Society for General Microbiology's Spring Conference in Dublin.

Foodborne illness costs the UK an estimated £2 billion each year. Campylobacter is the leading cause of foodborne illness and is responsible for about 30% of cases in the UK. Campylobacter jejuni was responsible for more than 371,000 estimated cases in England and Wales in 2009, resulting in more than 17,500 hospitalizations and 88 deaths.

Scientists at Washington State University are studying the maternal antibodies that are passed from hens to their chicks. "These antibodies protect chicks from becoming colonized by Campylobacter in the first week of life," explained Professor Michael Konkel who is leading the research. "Our group has now identified the bacterial molecules that these antibodies attack, which has given us a starting point for a vaccine against Campylobacter," he said. "We have already found that chickens injected with these specific molecules – found on the surface of Campylobacter jejuni – produce antibodies against the bacterium. This response partially protects them from colonization."

"Preventing contamination of poultry at slaughter has not been effective at reducing illness in humans. It has been shown that about 65% of chickens on retail sale in the UK are contaminated with Campylobacter," explained Professor Konkel. "Ideally, the best way to prevent contamination is to stop chickens on the farm from becoming colonized with this microorganism in the first place, which could be achieved by vaccination. Our goal within the next 6 months is to test a vaccine for chickens that will reduce Campylobacter colonization levels. There's still a long way to go, but I'm confident our lab and others are moving in the right direction."

Nearly 200 people across the state have reported illnesses after attending a high school cheer and dance event in Everett earlier this month.

Preliminary survey results show at least 192 reports of illness from participants and adults who attended the event Feb. 4. Students and adults from Columbia River and Skyview high schools in Vancouver attended the event.

The Washington State Department of Health is investigating the cause of the outbreak.

As part of the investigation, questionnaires were sent to participants and their families and stool samples are being collected for testing at the state Public Health Laboratories.

More than 3,000 people attended the event and more than 1,000 competed in the State Cheerleading and Salute to Spirit in cheer and dance/drill.

A cryptosporidium outbreak has emerged in Cairns, Queensland (that’s in Australia) with 51 cases in a month when the usual number of yearly cases was below 20.

"If you’ve got 51 cases confirmed in a lab, chances are there are hundreds out there," Public Health medical officer Dr Steven Donohue said.

In the letter, Dr Donohue instructed day care centres to exclude children with diarrhea until they have not had symptoms for 48 hours.

He also recommended that swimming pools at day care centres be disinfected with adequate chlorination or refilled after each session.

Queensland Health is also in the process of notifying swimming pool operators about the health risk, Dr Donohue said.

"We’re not blaming the pools but they are a known factor in magnifying the outbreak," he said. "The pool operators should be very careful to make sure children with diarrhoea or dirty nappies are not in pools."

In other crypto news, Artieda et al report in Eurosurveillance that on 24 November 2011, some smart pediatrician in the Basque Countr of northern Spain notified the epidemiological surveillance service of Gipuzkoa of a child with diarrhea in whose stools oocysts of Cryptosporidium had been isolated, as well as of an unusually large number of children with diarrhea who attended the same day-care center as the first child. All were tested for Cryptosporidium.

Investigators concluded that from October to December 2011, an outbreak of 26 cases of cryptosporidiosis occurred in a day-care centre in Gipuzkoa, Spain. The infection spread from person to person and affected 24 children under two years of age (attack rate: 38%) and two caregivers. Cryptosporidium oocysts were observed in 10 of 15 samples. During 2010, only four cases of cryptosporidium were detected in Gipuzkoa, and 27 overall in Spain.

At the time of the study, 63 children between 0 and two years of age attended the day-care, as well as the staff that consisted of six caregivers. There were 39 1–2-year-olds in classroom 2 (ground floor) and classrooms 3 and 4 (first floor), 13 in each. In classroom 1 (ground floor) and classrooms 5 and 6 (second floor), there were 24 0–1-year-olds, eight in each. A total of 24 children fell ill (attack rate: 38.1%), and only three of them were in the group of 0–1-year-olds. Children shared some activities by age group. Two caregivers also fell ill. In the microscopic analysis, Cryptosporidiumspp. oocysts were isolated in 10 of 15 stool samples, and no other enteropathogen was found in any of the samples studied.

In addition, an environmental investigation was also undertaken by the local public health technicians. Information on hygiene practices and water usage was collected. The investigation detected deficiencies in hygiene procedures in the day-care centre. Single use paper towels were not available in any of the risk areas.

As soon as the outbreak was confirmed, strengthening of hygiene measures was recommended to the staff of the day-care center, and they were asked to advise taking children to their pediatrician in the event of more cases. The recommended measures involved correcting the above-mentioned deficiencies, improving compliance with universal hygiene rules and, given the characteristics of the microorganism (resistance to chlorine), cleaning surfaces with 3% hydrogen peroxide. All measures recommended were implemented within 24-48 hours.

A letter was sent to the parents informing them of the outbreak and advising good hygiene practices. In addition, they were told that those with diarrhea must not to use public swimming pools or other recreational water facilities for the duration of the outbreak.

The full report is available at http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=20070.