No promises, but school’s just about to start and I hope this will be my last mention of Cryptosporidium, or Crypto, the diarrhea-causing parasite that has hit area pools and made many neighbors —adults and kids— sick. Today’s Morning News contains a detailed piece on the various causes in the relative skyrocketing of Crypto cases in Dallas (Dallas, Tarrant and Collin counties have confirmed more than 400 cases of cryptosporidiosis this year – mostly from the past few weeks. Last year, there were 62).
Suggested causes include increased gas prices; (no lie: "high gas prices prompted more people to stay closer to home during summer break this year. And when summer temperatures soared, many of them took to the water," according to Zach Thompson, director of the Dallas County Department of Health and Human Services); and increased publicity (glad to know I did my part). Essentially, reporting about the virus prompted doctors to check for a cause of illness that was previously "under the radar", some believe.
