A Virginia family is blaming a Lynchburg hotel after they all got sick while swimming in its pool.
Michelle Rose, of Rustburg — about 10 miles south of the hotel — said she booked a room at the Residence Inn specifically to take her family swimming.
Rose took her sister and her two children to the pool, and they all left feeling sick.
“I ended up with a UTI (urinary tract infection),” Rose said. “My son is still seeking treatment; he is having some gastro stuff.”
Krystle Hobson, Rose’s sister, said she had bronchitis, an upper respiratory infection, and something called viral syndrome.
“I know that this came from the pool, without a doubt,' Hobson said.
Rose’s daughter was hospitalized. “She was admitted to the ER for a UTI that ended up being pyelonephritis, which is a severe kidney infection,” Rose said. “She also had strep throat.”
Because they were all affected, Rose contacted the health department, which visited the hotel to check it out.
“The water quality looked pretty good, except that there was no chlorine in the water, and that’s an important part of sanitation,” said Jim Bowles, the environmental health manager for the Central Virginia Health Department. “Chlorine is sanitizer, and it's there to kill, or at least minimize, the amount of bacteria and other germs that may cause illness in pool water. Our regulations require that pools have a chlorine level of one to three parts per million and also a pH of 7.2 to 7.8.”
Bowles said the pool had a chlorine level of zero and a pH level of 7.2.
“They were advised to shut down until the chlorine level got up to what was required,” he said. “We then did a follow-up inspection about five or six days later. At that point the chlorine was back where it should be — it was at one. We advised them to raise it a bit higher because of the weather. It's sunny and hot, which eats up the chlorine faster.”
Bowles also said the hotel didn't properly display and keep their chemical maintenance records, which is against regulation.
“There is a law in Virginia that requires operators of a public pool to post their chlorine level and pH level daily at least,' he said. “This is there so that people who use the pool can see that the chlorine level is where it should be, and I would advise people to pay attention to those.”
The Virginia Health Department did not determine whether the pool made Rose's family sick, but Bowles warned people that improperly treated water can be a source of infection.
“Unchlorinated pools — and in fact, even pools that have proper chlorination — can still be a source of illness,” Bowles said. “The primary illnesses we're concerned with are gastrointestinal.”
Bowles said that there are a few things people can do for themselves and others to help prevent illnesses:
• Don't swim when you're sick, especially if you have diarrhea.
• Kids who are not fully toilet trained should wear swimming diapers.
• Shower before and after you swim in the pool.
