The Valencia City Council has ordered the precautionary and provisional closure of the Central Park and its facilities after seven cases of infection with a microorganism that causes cryptosporidium have been registered, in children between the ages of 2 and 9. The consistory, in a statement, explained that it will proceed to empty the sheets of water and fountains throughout the garden, following the alert sent by the General Sub-Directorate of Epidemiology of the Generalitat on suspicion of the presence of the protozoan cryptosporidium, a microorganism that causes cryptosporidiosis.
The City Council and the Ministry are working together, after having registered cases of infection by this microorganism in a total of seven children. The council reports that the main symptom of the infection is watery diarrhoea, often along with other signs of gastrointestinal upset.
According to the data collected, the contagion could have been due to improper access to the sheets of water and fountains by children such as bathing and refreshment areas, a use that is totally prohibited since these waters do not receive treatment like those in which bathing is allowed by users.
The councilor for Carlos Mundina explained that, from the City Council, access to the park and all affected areas has been closed and, as he recalled, "the improper use of these spaces is totally prohibited", neither by people, both adults and minors, nor by pets, especially dogs, since they are transmitters of the disease.
After the health alert, the closure of the facilities has been ordered, and water treatment will begin, applying the procedures available for fecal incidents (PWTAG, or from other organisms). Likewise, samples have been taken for analysis in order to confirm the efficacy of the treatment.
The parasite that transmits cryptosporidiosis lives in the soil, in food, and in water, and can also be found on surfaces contaminated with feces. Infection usually occurs by ingesting the parasite if it is in food, in water (both in drinking and swimming water), as well as by touching the mouth with contaminated hands.
