Aug. 17, 2008, TDMN, Page 1A (jump)

1. With so many people saying it
couldn’t be done, all it takes is an
imagination. That’s something I
learned and something that
helped me.”
The Water Cube was filled to
capacity for the 4x100, fittingly
the last swimming event of the
Olympics besides the marathon
event.
Fans and media crammed
the aisles to watch the historic
moment, and Phelps’ postrace
news conference was standing-
room only.
“Being able to accomplish ev-
erything you’ve ever dreamed of,
it’s fun,” Phelps said, drawing
laughter. Before the Olympics,
Phelps said only he and his
coach, Bob Bowman, knew his
goals for Beijing. So what were
they?
“Everything was accom-
plished,” he said, revealing that
the primary ones were to swim
personal-best times in every
event (done) and win every race
(ditto).
“This has been something
I’ve been looking forward to for
the last four years. It’s been a fun
last four years — and it’s been
one fun week, that’s for sure.”
Phelps has won 14 gold med-
als in the last two Olympics, five
more than any Olympic athlete
in history. Saturday’s medal was
his 16th overall, surpassing Rus-
sian gymnast Nikolai Andria-
nov’s previous male-Olympic
athlete record of 15.
But it is Spitz’s name and re-
cord that have towered over
swimming since he won his sev-
en golds in Munich in 1972.
“Markcamearound30-some
years ago, but the way the sport
is going, it’s certainly some feat,”
Phelps’ teammate Aaron Peirsol
said. “The term Spitzian feat
might be outdated now with the
Phelpsian feat — I coined that.
We’re all proud to be part of
something as special as this.”
Phelps’ path to the record
demonstrates the difficulty of
the task.
True, he set or helped break
seven individual and relay world
records, plus one Olympic re-
cord.
Buttwoofhisvictorieswillbe
remembered among the most
remarkable comebacks and fin-
ishes in Olympic history.
In Monday’s 4x100m free-
style relay, United States an-
chor-leg swimmer Lezak started
half a body length behind
French world champion Alain
Bernard, but beat him to the
wall. The winning margin was
eight-hundredths of a second.
In Friday’s 100-meter butter-
fly final, Phelps rallied to earn
gold medal No. 7 by beating Ser-
bia’s Milorad Cavic by one-hun-
dredth of a second. After that
race, fourth-place finisher and
University of Texas product Ian
Crocker swam over to shake
Phelps’ hand.
“I said, ‘Congratulations,’
which doesn’t really cut it after
his week,” Crocker said. “I mean,
what do you really say to that ex-
cept shake his hand and shake
your head and wonder if any-
body will ever come close to that
again.
“Probably not. Not in my life-
time, anyway.”
The record-tying seventh
gold medal reaped Phelps a $1
million bonus from swimsuit
manufacturer Speedo. The
bounty had been on the table
since before the 2004 Athens
Olympics, where Phelps earned
sixgoldmedalsandtwobronzes.
Now, more millions await
Phelps as he assumes the title
“Greatest Olympian Ever” for
perhaps the rest of his life.
Phelps reiterated after the race
that he will continue to swim
competitively and train with
longtime coach Bowman.
“I’m not doing this for the
money,” he said. “I’m doing it be-
cause I love what I do. This is
something I dreamed of, as soon
as I started swimming, winning
an Olympic gold medal.
“In Athens, I was able to do
that, and really surpass my
goals. If Bob and I were in it for
the money, I think we’d be in a
different sport.”
Phelps has long said that his
primary objective is bringing at-
tention to swimming and foster-
ing the sport’s growth.
Relay propels Phelps to eighth gold, breaking Spitz’s record
Continued from Page 1A
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A16 II 08-17-2008 Set: 00:30:51
Sent by: klueb News CYANMAGENTAYELLOWBLACK
16A Sunday, August 17, 2008 II dallasnews.com The Dallas Morning NewsFROM THE FRONT PAGE
And at the moment, North
Texas is at the epicenter of the
spread.
Dallas, Tarrant and Collin
counties have confirmed more
than 400 cases of cryptospori-
diosis this year — mostly from
the past few weeks. Last year,
there were 62.
“I’ve been doing this close to
12 years, and I’ve never seen
these numbers,” said Zach
Thompson, director of the Dal-
las County Department of
Health and Human Services.
One possible explanation
for the increase is that 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, Mr. Thompson said.
Tarrant outbreak
Butoverall,publichealthof-
ficials remain puzzled about
exactly why the numbers are
skyrocketing.
Theirbestguess?Itcouldbe
as simple as increased aware-
ness and reporting.
A well-publicized outbreak
at Burger’s Lake in Tarrant
County last month, where a
confirmed 88 people were in-
fected, brought a once-under-
the-radar parasite to the fore-
front of locals’ minds, said
Anita Kurian, the Tarrant
County chief epidemiologist.
The Dallas County medical
examiner’s office is also investi-
gating whether the death of a
6-year-old Richardson girl in
late July was related to the par-
asite.
As news of crypto spread,
people who developed diar-
rhea, abdominal cramping or
vomiting started worrying
about that instead of blaming a
taco or greasy hamburger from
the night before.
“Now they’re thinking,
‘Where was I swimming?’ ”
said Michele Hlavsa, an epide-
miologist who specializes in
recreational water illnesses at
the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
The national rise in report-
ed crypto incidents also coin-
cides with the release of a cryp-
to drug treatment for people 12
and older about three years
ago. A treatment for children 1
to 11 years of age became avail-
able a few years earlier.
Before then, many doctors
didn’t bother testing for cryp-
tosporidiosis, Ms. Hlavsa said,
and therefore didn’t report it.
Even with growing aware-
ness, people continue to un-
knowingly spread the parasite,
which can be contagious for up
to two weeks after symptoms
subside.
About a third of those with
confirmed infections in Dallas
County said they went swim-
ming while they were showing
symptoms or during the two
weeks afterward, according to
Dallas County Health and Hu-
manServices.Withinthatperi-
od, they could still spread the
parasite.
Testing the waters
People can be exposed to
Cryptosporidium in a variety of
ways. State and federal health
officials say that contact with
fecal matter in day care centers
can lead to infections. It some-
times finds its way into drink-
ing water or food. Most Texas
caseshavebeentrackedbackto
swimming pools, recreational
lakes, and pool and spray
grounds.
Communities typically take
steps to ensure the safety of all
pools used by the public. In
Dallas, inspectors conduct sev-
eral water quality tests, includ-
ing chlorination and pH levels.
In more than half of the 184 in-
spections reviewed by The Dal-
las Morning News last week,
the pools failed water quality
tests. But whether the pools
passed inspection or not, Cryp-
tosporidium could be present.
“If you have an E. coli out-
break, it’s probably because the
pool is not well-maintained,”
Ms. Hlavsa said. “But with
crypto, that’s not true.”
Code enforcers typically
don’t test for the parasite, so a
number of local public health
departments are recommend-
ing that swimming facilities
“hyperchlorinate” their water
at least once a week to curb the
parasite before it becomes a
problem. To do that, pool oper-
ators have to close the pool,
raise the chlorine level and
then return the chlorine level
tonormalbeforeitreopens.Ul-
traviolet filtering systems can
also kill the parasite but can be
expensive to install.
Individuals, however, can
do a lot to reduce the risk
through good hygiene.
All areas vulnerable
Texas has had more than its
shareofcryptosporidiosiscases
this year, but other areas may
be just as vulnerable.
“It can happen anywhere,”
said Emily Palmer, a spokes-
woman for the Texas Depart-
ment of State Health Services.
“It’s not something that’s en-
demictoonepartofthestateor
another.”
In 1993, news accounts re-
ported that crypto-contami-
nated drinking water infected
more than 400,000 people
and contributed to more than
100 deaths in Milwaukee.
Last year, more than 1,900
cases were confirmed in Utah
after an outbreak in swimming
areas.
In response, state officials
mandated weekly hyperchlori-
nation and banned children 5
and younger from swimming
in public pools.
“Swimming in diapers is not
always the best thing to do,”
Ms. Palmer said.
Utah did see a dramatic
drop before the end of 2007 in
the number of crypto cases, but
itwasunclearwhetherthatwas
because of the measures state
officials took or the end of the
swim season.
Since then, public health
departments across Utah initi-
ated a massive education cam-
paign that involved meeting
with everyone from inspectors
to rotary clubs to lifeguards
and airing informational TV
commercials, said Teresa Gray,
who manages water quality in
Salt Lake County.
Thisyear,Utahhasseenone
confirmed crypto case. Texas
public health departments will
consider similar regulations if
the problem worsens.
“We haven’t reached that
stage yet,” said Dr. Kurian of
Tarrant County. “But I can’t say
that we will never make that
recommendation.”
Local health departments
are trying to reach out to as
many people as possible.
“If there’s not recognition,
then the cycle is going to con-
tinue,” said Wendy Chung,
chief epidemiologist for Dallas
County.
For The Colony Aquatic
Park, this means hanging up
posterswithmessageslike“Got
Diarrhea? Don’t Swim” and
“You wouldn’t drink your bath-
water, would you? Why would
you drink your pool water?”
Though Ms. Knox is taking
precautions to avoid another
crypto incident, she hopes it
won’tdisruptpeople’sroutines.
“In flu season, are you stay-
ing home from church and the
movies?” Ms. Knox said. “Or
are you living life?”
Staff writer Ryan McNeill
contributed to this report
jsidman@dallasnews.com;
dmonteverde@dallasnews.com
‘Crypto’ outbreak puzzles health officials
MELANIE BURFORD/Staff Photographer
Three-year-old
Eric Salazar
(right)
celebrated his
birthday at The
Colony Aquatic
Park on Saturday
with brother
Alan (left) and
Randy Cura,
both 11. The park
closed briefly
last week after
being notified
that a woman
infected with
Cryptosporidium
had visited it.
Attendance has
been low since
then.
AT A GLANCE
The disease
Cryptosporidiosis is a
disease caused by a tiny
parasite that can infect both
people and animals. The
most common symptoms
are diarrhea, nausea, fever,
stomach cramps and
vomiting. In healthy people,
the illness usually lasts one
to two weeks. In people with
poor immune systems
(those with HIV/AIDS,
cancer, or recent organ
transplants), the infection
may be severe and last
longer.
Cryptosporidiosis is spread
through contact with the
feces of infected people or
animals. It can be
contracted several ways.
Those include:
I Swallowing contaminated
water in a pool or other
recreational water facilities
I Eating food or drinking
water that’s contaminated
I Touching something with
stool on it and putting your
hand in your mouth
I Having contact with a
person who is contaminated
SOURCE: Texas Department of State
Health Services
LAURIE JOSEPH/Staff Artist
A growing problem
Lab-confirmed cases of cryptosporidiosis, a parasitic infection
often spread through contact with contaminated water, are on
the rise locally, statewide and nationally. Here are the numbers:
0
50
100
150
200
250
0
25
50
75
100
125
150
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
Dallas County cases Collin County cases
Tarrant County cases
U.S. cases
Texas cases
’04 ’05 ’06 ’07 ’08 ’04 ’05 ’06 ’07 ’08
’04 ’05 ’06 ’07 ’08
N/A
’05 ’06 ’07 ’08
’04 ’05 ’06 ’07 ’08
209*
141*
2,365**
66*
*Dallas: as of Aug. 13
Collin: as of Aug. 12
Tarrant: as of Aug. 14
SOURCES: Dallas
County Health and
Human Services,
Collin County Health
Care Services,
Tarrant County
Public Health, Texas
Department of State
Health Services,
Centers for Disease
Control and
Prevention
**United States: as of Aug. 2, but most states don't report
numbers until the end of the year
Continued from Page 1A
LEARN MORE about
the parasite and how
you can avoid it.
dallasnews.com
/extra
ATAGLANCE
Phelps’golds
Aug. 9: 400m
individual medley;
4:03:84*
Aug. 10: 4x100m free
relay; 3:08.24*
Monday: 200m free;
1:42.96*
Tuesday: 200m fly;
1:52.03*
Tuesday: 4x200m
free relay; 6:58.56*
Thursday: 200m
individual medley;
1:54.23*
Friday: 100m fly;
50.58
Saturday: 4x100m
medley relay;
3:29.34*
*World record
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