Status: Active
Date issued: 20 March 2024 (update to alert issued 20 December 2023)
Issued by: Dr. Clare Looker, Chief Health Officer
Issued to: Victorian public and health professionals
Key messages
- The number of cryptosporidiosis (crypto) cases in Victoria remains high. Last week Victoria received the highest number of reported cases for this season.
- Many cases have become infected after using public swimming pools, and public health investigations have found people are attending pools while they are infectious.
- Health professionals should consider the possibility of cryptosporidiosis in people presenting with gastroenteritis, ask about exposures in the previous two weeks, provide infection control and exclusion advice, and notify the department of all positive cases.
- People with known cryptosporidiosis or an unknown cause of diarrhoea should not swim while they have diarrhoea and for a full two weeks after their diarrhoea stops. This avoids contaminating the pool water and the risk of transmission to others.
- Read the full advisory at Continued increase in cryptosporidiosis cases across Victoria.
