The CDC’s focus on “recreational water venues,” which include swimming pools, interactive fountains, kiddie/wading pools, water slides and and therapy pools, is understandable given that about 314 million Americans visit them each year.
From 1997 to 2006, the CDC says, infections caused by norovirus, shigella and other bacteria caused almost a quarter of pool-related gastroenteritis outbreaks, despite the fact that they could have been kept at bay with proper maintenance and inspections.
To better understand those lapses, the CDC examined 121,020 pool inspections volunteered by 15 jurisdictions. The majority came from the states of Florida (52,752) and South Carolina (22,111). The numbers tell a pretty compelling story on their own:
Pool inspections are a common, yet overlooked source of community health data, and this CDC release should be easy to localize, especially if you live in one of the 15 areas that volunteered the data used in the report. See the full list after the jump.
Florida Department of Health (52,752)
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (1,132)
New York State Department of Health (7,384)
South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (22,111)
Columbus (Ohio) Public Health (2,117)
DeKalb County (Ga.) Board of Health (2,755)
Jefferson County (Ala.) Department of Health (982)
King County (Wash.) Public Health (2,300)
Los Angeles County (Calif.) Environmental Health (7,890)
Maricopa County (Az.) Environmental Services Department (15,075)
Mecklenburg County (N.C.) Health Department (1,248)
Oklahoma City-County (Okla.) Health Department (1,802)
Sacramento County (Calif.) Environmental Management Department (1,016)
Taney County (Mo.) Health Department (549)
Tulsa (Okla.) Health Department (1,907)
