Heard attorneys love the resulting lawsuits to pool owners! sigh....I guess everyone is looking for a way to make a fast buck.

Pools are particularity vulnerable to illness-causing bacteria or germs introduced into water by swimmers.

The incubation period for the most common types of infection is from 1-10 days, so many people don't make the connection between pool use and illness. As a result, the number of actual outbreaks is probably much greater than those currently reported.

Cryptosporidium
One of the most common illnesses associated with public pools is diarrhea caused by a parasite called Cryptosporidium (crip-toe-spo-RID-ee-um). Cryptosporidium is found in the intestinal tract of infected humans and animals and is transmitted through the ingestion of fecal matter. This becomes a problem when the fecal matter is in the form of watery diarrhea, which rapidly dissipates in a large pool of water and becomes virtually invisible, says Ashley Lamonte, MPH (Master of Public Health) with the CDC.

A pool may be contaminated, even without a "fecal accident:" trace amounts of bacteria on a person's bottom can be washed into a pool.

E. coli is a bacteria that lives in the intestinal tract of healthy humans and animals; one strain of the bacteria, however, is particularly virulent and can cause extreme illness and even death. In 1998, a contaminated home pool caused an outbreak of E. coli that hospitalized eight people and one child died.

E. coli  can also be transmitted through the ingestion of fecal matter. E. coli is particularly dangerous and symptoms of the disease include diarrhea, listlessness, abdominal cramps, blood in stool and sometimes fever. Someone with these symptoms should seek immediate medical attention.

Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease
Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is another common illness that can be the unfortunate result of a day spent at the local pool. Symptoms of HFMD include fever, sores in the mouth and a rash with blisters. The illness begins with fever, loss of appetite and lethargy, and often a sore throat. After a day or two, sores develop in the mouth -- on the tongue, gums, and inside the cheeks -- and they often become ulcers.

After a day or two, a skin rash appears that is often located on the palms, soles of feet or buttocks. The rash consists of flat or raised red spots, some with blisters. The rash does not itch, and a person with HFMD may have only the rash or the mouth ulcers. No specific treatment is available for HFMD, though medication may be given to alleviate symptoms, and HFMD usually resolves in 7-10 days.

• Body discharges such as mucous from the nose, saliva, sweat, fecal matter, urine, dead skin.
• Street and workplace soil, body lotions, suntan creams, dust, pollen, air pollutants, animals droppings, insects.
• Persons with sore or inflamed eyes, colds, nasal or ear discharge, boils, eczema, seborrhea, dandruff, or other acute or obvious skin or body infections, or cuts