Following detection of 57 confirmed cases of diarrhea in the region, it is being alarmed that parents should not send their children who have recovered a mere two weeks back, to swim in pools in order to prevent the disease from spreading. Sources of the outburst of cryptosporidium are being investigated by Community and Public Health team and this will involve interviews with patients diagnosed with the disease. Cryptosporidium is a parasite causing diarrhea and intense stomach cramps.

Dr. Ramon Pink, the Medical Officer of Health, highlights the importance of the precautions because sports days are being held by many schools on the account of weather getting normal.

Dr. Pink says, “The source of the disease may be farm animals or contaminated water or person to person spread. Typically we see an increase in the spring associated with farming activities. We are concentrating our efforts around the confirmed cases in metropolitan Christchurch but no one source has been identified as yet”.