Cryptosporidiosis outbreak smashes records with 13,400 cases this year
The previous record was 5421 cases back in 2016, according to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.
Doctors have diagnosed over 13,400 cryptosporidiosis cases this year, 3.5 times higher than last year’s total case count and 2.5 times higher than the previous annual record.
“We believe the spike is due to a combination of changing weather patterns and an increase in recreational water activities,” said Associate Professor Vincent Ho, a gastroenterologist and academic at Western Sydney University.
Almost half of the cases were in Queensland, with another 3400 in NSW and 2200 in Victoria, according to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.
Professor Ho said most cases involved patients drinking or cooking with contaminated water.
