Healthy Swimming Announcements

Today marks the start of the 12th annual Healthy and Safe Swimming Week!

Each year, Healthy and Safe Swimming Week focuses on simple steps everyone can take to help ensure healthy and safe swimming. This year’s theme is “Check Out Healthy and Safe Swimming,” encouraging swimmers and parents of young swimmers to take an active role in protecting their health and safety by checking for inspection results before getting in public pools or hot tubs/spas, and by doing their own quick and easy 4-step inspection before getting into the water.

We are kicking off the Week with a Twitter Chat today at 12 PM ET. Join the conversation by following Chat hosts @CDCgov and @NBCNewsHealth, and use the hashtag #HealthySwimChat when sending or responding to tweets.

We are also excited to announce the launch of our new and improved Healthy Swimming website! The website features updated content and new materials for all audiences. Please use the materials below to spread the word about the importance of staying healthy and safe in the water this summer and all year long!

New Materials

• Newly published data on health and safety violations identified during inspections of public pools and hot tubs/spas in 2013
  • CDC Press Release
  • Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Surveillance Summary
• Healthy and Safe Swimming Week Partner Toolkit, with community outreach suggestions, resources/links, and press release, op-ed, and proclamation templates
• Buttons and banners to promote healthy and safe swimming
• Healthy and Safe Swimming feature on CDC.gov
• Infographic for swimmers and parents of young swimmers to use to do their own inspection before getting into the water
• FREE laminated chemical safety posters (one on safe use and the other on safe storage)(in English and Spanish)
• FREE brochures highlighting easy steps swimmers can follow to protect themselves from germs (in English and Spanish)

As Memorial Day approaches and many of us are looking forward to spending time with our families and friends at the pool, it’s important to remember how to keep ourselves and our loved ones healthy and safe. Everyone has a role to play in making pools and other recreational water venues safer to swim in. Join CDC and NBC Health News on Twitter to chat about how to stay healthy and safe in the water!

The Twitter Chat will be held on Monday, May 23, 12–1PM EDT, to kick off Healthy and Safe Swimming Week. We’ll discuss:

• The benefits and risks of swimming
• New data on public pool and hot tub/spa inspections
• How to do your own inspection before you get in the water
• How to stay healthy and safe in the water

To participate, follow @CDCgov and @NBCNewsHealth, and use the hashtag #HealthySwimChat during the chat to view and respond to tweets. CDC Healthy Swimming expert Michele Hlavsa will be joining the chat via @CDC_NCEZID.

Wait—what’s a Twitter chat? Twitter chats are scheduled gatherings of people on Twitter to discuss anything that interests them, using a #hashtag to keep track of the conversation. There are chats for everything from blogging on art to agriculture to, yes, health! Twitter chats offer participants a great way to network and share knowledge. It’s similar to a chat room in that it’s a topic-driven conversation happening in real time; it just happens to take place on Twitter.

Not using Twitter? No problem. Just visit https://twitter.com/CDCgov and click “Sign Up” to get started.

Thank you for your interest in the Model Aquatic Health Code (MAHC), a collaborative effort of public health, academia, and industry working to protect individuals, families, and communities from preventable waterborne diseases and injuries through evidence-based guidance. Our vision is “Healthy and Safe Aquatic Experiences for Everyone.” Read below for the latest information.

MAHC 1st Edition now available

Today we launched the nation’s first voluntary guidelines based on science and best practices for improving health and safety at swimming pools and other aquatic venues: The Model Aquatic Health Code 1st Edition. States and localities can use the MAHC to create or update existing pool codes to reduce risk for outbreaks, drowning, and pool-chemical injuries.

Creating the MAHC has been a tremendous process, and CDC thanks the many organizations and individuals who have worked together to develop this document. The MAHC 1st Edition is a product of seven years of work, involving a steering committee, 12 technical committees, 140 people, and input and consensus from public health, aquatics, and academia. In two rounds of public comment, we received more than 4,400 comments—nearly three-quarters of which we accepted to make the MAHC even better.

New materials to promote the MAHC

As we launch the MAHC 1st Edition, we have also updated and created a number of materials to help potential users and stakeholders learn about the MAHC:

• Reorganized and expanded MAHC website
• New MAHC materials
  • Button to promote the MAHC on websites, blogs, and social networks
  • Fact sheets to print and share
  • Infographic to view, share, and print
• New MAHC Training & Education page
• Updated MAHC newsroom

Spread the word

Please remind your colleagues that the MAHC 1st Edition is now available. We encourage you to forward this email and/or to use your social media channels to spread the word. You may use, edit, or customize the following sample posts for use on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, etc.:

• States and localities can help keep swimming healthy and fun. Want to know how? Learn about the new #MAHC: http://go.usa.gov/mXZJ
• New #MAHC uses latest scientific research to address key public health issues in pools & other aquatic facilities. http://go.usa.gov/mXZJ
• With new #MAHC, local & state agencies can incorporate the latest science into pool inspection & safety programs. http://go.usa.gov/mXZJ 

Meet the CMAHC

Please check out our new partner, The Conference for the Model Aquatic Health Code (CMAHC) at www.cmahc.org. The CMAHC is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization created in 2013 to support and improve public health by promoting healthy and safe aquatic experiences for everyone. The CMAHC will serve as a key CDC partner by serving as a national clearinghouse for gathering stakeholder input and advice on needed improvements to the MAHC.

Join CDC experts for a free Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) call that offers free continuing education credit.*

Date: Thursday, June 19, 2014

Time: 2:00 – 3:00 pm (Eastern Time)

Click here to Join Webinar
Registration is not required. Audio is required for webinar.

Audio Dial In: 
888-233-9077 (U.S. Callers)
1-773-799-3915 (International Callers)

Passcode: 4972213

Call Overview

Swimming and other water-related activities are popular during the summer. However, Naegleria fowleri, known as the brain-eating ameba, may be present in warm freshwater and can result in primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM)—a rare disease that is almost always fatal. Additionally, the chlorine-tolerant parasite Cryptosporidium is one of the most frequent causes of waterborne disease among humans in the United States. During this COCA call, clinicians will learn about PAM and diarrhea resulting from Cryptosporidium, how to prevent these diseases, and what to do if you suspect your patient has one of them.

Presenters

Jennifer Cope, MD, MPH
Medical Epidemiologist
Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Michele Hlavsa, RN, MPH
Epidemiologist
Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Additional Information

For additional information and to access call recordings (audio, webinar, and transcript), which will be available a few days after the live call/webinar, please visit the call webpage at http://emergency.cdc.gov/coca/calls/2014/callinfo_061914.asp.

*For more information on continuing education credit, please visit http://emergency.cdc.gov/coca/continuingeducation.asp.

If you have questions or trouble accessing this COCA Call/Webinar, please e-mail coca@cdc.gov.

CDC’s Healthy Swimming Program is pleased to announce the start of the 10th annual Recreational Water Illness and Injury Prevention Week.

Each year, Recreational Water Illness and Injury (RWII) Prevention Week focuses on simple steps swimmers and pool operators can take to help ensure a healthy and safe swimming experience for everyone. This year’s theme is “Healthy and Safe Swimming: We’re in it Together,” focusing on the role of swimmers, aquatics and beach staff, residential pool owners, and public health officials in preventing disease outbreaks, drowning, and pool chemical injuries.

New materials

• Newly published articles in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR):
  • Recreational water–associated disease outbreaks—United States, 2009–2010
  • Racial and ethnic disparities in fatal unintentional drowning by setting among persons ≤29 years, United States – 1999-2010
  • Pool chemical–associated health events in public and residential settings — United States, 2003–2012, and Minnesota, 2013
  • Algal bloom–associated disease outbreaks among users of freshwater lakes — United States, 2009–2010
• RWII Prevention Week communication toolkit, with community outreach suggestions, resources/links, and press release, op-ed, and proclamation templates
• Buttons and badges to promote RWII Prevention Week and healthy swimming
• RWII Prevention Week Feature on CDC.gov
• Expanded Healthy Swimming website, with web content syndication available for the most popular pages and a new social media library
• Infographic about the gunk that comes off of swimmers’ bodies in the pool
• Information and FREE laminated posters about safe use and storage of pool chemicals (in English and Spanish)

Gearing up for summer swim season? Join our Twitter chat to get info from CDC experts and four-time Olympic gold medalist Missy Franklin, who knows a thing or two about staying healthy and safe in the water!

We’ll be here on Thursday, May 29, 2-3PM ET to answer your questions about keeping you and your family healthy and safe around the pool, beach, or waterpark. We’ll discuss:

• Why we swim. It’s fun, it’s exercise—and it can even improve your mood.
• What’s in the water. Did you know chlorine doesn’t kill germs instantly?
• How to stay healthy. You can help keep yourself, your family, and your friends from getting sick.
• How to stay safe. Drowning is preventable, and you can help.
• What parents can do. Swim diapers, swim pants, and washing up before swimming—oh, my!
• And more!

To participate, follow @CDCgov on Twitter and use the hashtag #CDCswim during the chat to view and respond to tweets.

Wait—what’s a Twitter chat? Twitter chats are scheduled gatherings of people on Twitter to discuss anything that interests them, using a #hashtag to keep track of the conversation. Twitter chats offer participants a great way to share knowledge. It’s similar to a chat room in that it’s a topic-driven conversation happening in real time; it just happens to take place on Twitter.

Not using Twitter? No problem. Just visit http://twitter.com/CDCgov and click “Sign Up” to get started.

The World’s Largest Swimming Lesson aims to draw attention to the importance of teaching children how to swim as a key component in drowning prevention. On June 20, pools, waterparks, and other aquatic facilities around the globe will host local swimming lessons simultaneously in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record. Get involved today!

Download new posters, fact sheets, and our Healthy Swimming app today

Fourth of July is right around the corner and summer swim season is well underway! We’d like to let you know about several new Healthy Swimming products designed to help swimmers, parents, and pool staff stay healthy and safe this summer and all year round.

• Updated posters. We’ve added QR codes to our popular posters so swimmers can scan their way to healthy swimming info on the spot.
• Spanish posters. Our posters are now available in Spanish (look for PDFs en Español below the English versions).
• Revamped fact sheets. Learn about specific recreational water illnesses and how to prevent them with our redesigned fact sheets.
• Mobile app. Swimmers, parents, lifeguards, and pool staff—download the app for iPad and iPhone to have the latest health and safety information at your fingertips.

CDC’s Healthy Swimming Program is pleased to announce the start of the 9th annual Recreational Water Illness and Injury Prevention Week.

Each year, Recreational Water Illness and Injury (RWII) Prevention Week focuses on simple steps swimmers and pool operators can take to help ensure a healthy and safe swimming experience for everyone. This year’s theme is “How We Swimmers Contaminate Pools,” focusing on the role of good swimmer hygiene in preventing illness. We wish all of you a healthy and safe summer swim season!

New materials

• Our newly reorganized Healthy Swimming website with web content syndication available for our most popular pages
• An infographic about interactive fountains, splash parks, and spray pads
• FREE laminated posters about safe use and storage of pool chemicals (in English and Spanish)
• The RWII Prevention Week Feature on the CDC homepage
• The newly published article in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) on the feces and other contaminants swimmers bring into pools

Coming soon!

• Redesigned fact sheets on recreational water illnesses
• New Spanish Healthy Swimming posters
• A social media library
• A Healthy Swimming mobile app to get you to critical public materials in a snap!

We also have a RWII Prevention Week-themed button, currently up on our homepage, and banner (above) that partners can put on their own websites or emails to promote the observance. Please email healthywater@cdc.gov if you are interested in using either of these, and we will send you the files.

Join CDC experts Michele Hlavsa and Michael Beach to talk about how to help keep yourself, your family, and your friends healthy and safe this summer swim season and beyond.

We all share the water we play and swim in, but there are some things we don’t want to share with other swimmers—germs. Yuck! Learn about the germs that we swimmers can introduce into the places we swim, how these germs could make you and others sick, and how all of us can take a few easy and effective steps to keep the germs out of the water.

We’ll discuss:

• How we benefit from swimming. Did you know swimming can improve your health—and your mood?
• What’s in the water. Did you know chlorine and other disinfectants don’t kill germs instantly?
• Where we swim. Did you know germs could be lurking anywhere you swim or play in the water—even in the pool down the street?
• Popular topics: We’ll answer your questions on topics like swim diapers and breastfeeding in pools.
• How to stay healthy and safe. Healthy and safe swimming is easy with CDC’s simple tips!
• And more!

Want to join the conversation? Follow @CDC_NCEZID on Twitter and use the hashtag #swimsafe during the chat to participate.

Wait—what’s a Twitter chat? Twitter chats are scheduled gatherings of people on Twitter to discuss anything that interests them, using a #hashtag to keep track of the conversation. There are chats for everything from blogging on art to agriculture to, yes, health! Twitter chats offer participants a great way to network and share knowledge. It’s similar to a chat room in that it’s a topic-driven conversation happening in real time; it just happens to take place on Twitter.

Not using Twitter? No problem. Just visit https://twitter.com/CDC_NCEZID and click “Sign Up” to get started.

The World’s Largest Swimming Lesson aims to draw attention to the importance of teaching children how to swim as a key component in drowning prevention. On June 18, pools, waterparks, and other aquatic facilities around the globe will host local swimming lessons simultaneously in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record. Get involved today!

Be the first to know CDC’s latest recommendations for aquatic venues!

Join CDC and partners for the release of the first edition of the Model Aquatic Health Code for final public comment. The event will take place at the National Environmental Health Aquatic Symposium, a special preconference at this year’s National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) Annual Educational Conference & Exhibition.

The preconference will be held Monday, July 8th from 1-5 p.m. Register for NEHA preconference on the MAHC.

Note: The symposium is free with any one-day or full conference registration. After logging in and registering for the conference, you will have the option to add this symposium and other preconference workshops. Questions? Visit http://neha2013aec.org/ to learn more about the conference and preconference.

Celebrate Recreational Water Illness and Injury Prevention Week!

CDC’s Healthy Swimming Program is pleased to announce the start of the 8th annual Recreational Water Illness and Injury Prevention Week (RWIIPW).

Each year, RWIIPW focuses on simple steps swimmers and pool operators can take to help ensure a healthy and safe swimming experience for everyone.

We invite you to look at our new offerings this year, which include:

• New Healthy Swimming posters
• The Winning and Runner-Up videos from last year’s video contest
• The RWIIPW Feature on the CDC homepage
• The newly published article in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) on how a communications campaign in Utah might have helped increase knowledge of healthy swimming behaviors
• A new summary of national drowning statistics from 2005-2009
• Spanish translations of our most popular Healthy Swimming pages

We also have a RWIIPW-themed button and banner that partners can put on their own websites to promote the observance. Please email healthyswimming@cdc.gov if you are interested in using either of these and we will send you the files.

The 2011 Healthy Swimming Video Contest Top 5 Videos are ready for your vote!

The Healthy Swimming Program is pleased to announce the top 5 videos for the 2011 Healthy Swimming Video Contest, which are now open for public vote. Over the last 2 months, 49 videos were submitted and CDC’s panel of judges selected the 5 finalists after much deliberation.

Now it’s your chance to help choose the winner, who will receive $1000 and an opportunity for their video to be posted on CDC’s Healthy Swimming Website and CDC’s You Tube Channel.

In conjunction with RWIIPW, the Healthy Swimming Program recently announced the kickoff of its first-ever video contest! To help prevent the spread of germs at pools and other recreational water venues, CDC is asking the public to educate swimmers by making a short, creative video that promotes the simple steps everyone can take to ensure a healthy swimming experience. Submissions are now being accepted through July 4th. The first-place winner will receive a one-time $1,000 prize, provided by the CDC Foundation. The winning video will also be featured on CDC’s Healthy Swimming Website and CDC’s YouTube Channel for thousands to see.

Go to CDC’s Healthy Swimming 2011 Video Contest for more contest details.

CDC’s Healthy Swimming Program is excited to announce the launch of the 7th annual Recreational Water Illness and Injury Prevention Week (RWIIPW), May 23–29th. The theme of RWIIPW 2011 is prevention of swimmer’s ear, a common and painful problem for swimmers of all ages. CDC has just published a new report on the significant health care and economic costs associated with swimmer’s ear. The report also includes some simple steps people can take to prevent swimmer’s ear this summer.

Read the Swimmer’s Ear Report in MMWR: Estimated Burden of Acute Otitis Externa — United States, 2003–2007.

For more information on RWIIPW 2011, go to the historical observance page for Recreational Water Illness and Injury Prevention Week 2011.