Scores of swim athletes became ill on deck during the Finals of the Maryland State Swimming Championship on Saturday. The tournament took place at the Naval Academy. A number of volunteers, trainers and relatives of the competitors also got sick. Of the 99 people who got sick, 89 were swimmers. Meet Staff asked competitors who showed symptoms to withdraw from the competition in order to stem the spread of the illness.
Staff informed officials at the Anne Arundel County Health Department the following day. The health department says representatives were at the site of the infections within hours.
Initially, no starting point for the sickness could be identified at the Naval Academy. Everything checked out fine, such as disinfectant levels in the swimming pool water. Officials suspect an individual with some kind of infection was present and was in close contact with the athletes, some of whom became infected.
The Health Department told Meet Staff to locate anybody who had shown symptoms of illness during the previous 24 hours and to make sure they leave the venue straight away.
The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene took over the investigation on March 7th. Athletes, families, coaches and anybody who was at the venue are being asked to take part in a secure online survey. Access to the survey can be obtained from coaches.
In a communiqué, Maryland Swimming wrote:
Maryland Swimming requests that all families who participated in the 2011 Maryland State Swimming Championship Meet at the United States Naval Academy take this survey. Please obtain the password necessary for access from your club coach, and if that is unavailable, please contact us at the addresses listed below.
In addition, please read the letter from the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, along with the information on Viral Gastroenteritis which is linked on the Maryland Swimming Home Page.
Officials say that stool samples from individuals with symptoms are being tested to determine what might have caused the illnesses. They added that it is highly unlikely that the properly chlorinated pool is the source of the problem.
Source: Maryland Swimming