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Recreational Water Illness (RWI)

Photo of a recreational water slideRecreational water illnesses (RWIs) are illnesses that are spread by swallowing, breathing, or having contact with contaminated water from swimming pools, spas, lakes, rivers, or oceans. Recreational water illnesses can cause a wide variety of symptoms, including gastrointestinal, skin, ear, respiratory, eye, neurologic, and wound infections. The most commonly reported RWI is diarrhea. Diarrheal illnesses can be caused by germs such as Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Shigella, norovirus and E. coli O157:H7.

In the past two decades, there has been an increase in the number of RWI outbreaks associated with swimming. CDC's Healthy Swimming program offers information and resources to raise awareness about RWIs and how to prevent them by practicing "Healthy Swimming" behaviors.


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Resources

Contact Us:
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
    1600 Clifton Rd
    Atlanta, GA 30333
  • 800-CDC-INFO
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    TTY: (888) 232-6348
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  • healthywater@cdc.gov
USA.gov: The U.S. Government's Official Web PortalDepartment of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention   1600 Clifton Rd. Atlanta, GA 30333, USA
800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) TTY: (888) 232-6348, 24 Hours/Every Day - cdcinfo@cdc.gov

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