{"id":22447,"date":"2026-04-27T10:23:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T14:23:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/?page_id=22447"},"modified":"2026-05-07T11:33:43","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T15:33:43","slug":"recreational-water-illness","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/swim-healthy\/recreational-water-illness\/","title":{"rendered":"Recreational Water Illness"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pl-22447\"  class=\"panel-layout\" ><div id=\"pg-22447-0\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\" ><div id=\"pgc-22447-0-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-22447-0-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_sow-button panel-first-child\" data-index=\"0\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-button so-widget-sow-button-flat-3742c2101054-22447\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t><div class=\"ow-button-base ow-button-align-center\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/swim-healthy\/swimming-diarrhea\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"sowb-button ow-icon-placement-left ow-button-hover\" \t>\n\t\t<span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sow-icon-image\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/poo-storm-solid-150x150.png)\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tSwimming &amp; Diarrhea\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><div id=\"panel-22447-0-0-1\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_sow-button\" data-index=\"1\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-button so-widget-sow-button-flat-3742c2101054-22447\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t><div class=\"ow-button-base ow-button-align-center\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/waterborne-hazards-control\/recreational-water-illnesses\/free-living-ameba\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"sowb-button ow-icon-placement-left ow-button-hover\" \t>\n\t\t<span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sow-icon-image\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/bacterium-solid-150x150.png)\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tFree-Living Amoeba\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><div id=\"panel-22447-0-0-2\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_sow-button panel-last-child\" data-index=\"2\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-button so-widget-sow-button-flat-3742c2101054-22447\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t><div class=\"ow-button-base ow-button-align-center\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/swim-healthy\/pools-other-gastrointestinal-illnesses\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"sowb-button ow-icon-placement-left ow-button-hover\" \t>\n\t\t<span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sow-icon-image\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/bacteria-solid-150x150.png)\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tOther Gastrointestinal Illness\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pgc-22447-0-1\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-22447-0-1-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_sow-button panel-first-child\" data-index=\"3\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-button so-widget-sow-button-flat-3742c2101054-22447\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t><div class=\"ow-button-base ow-button-align-center\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/waterborne-hazards-control\/recreational-water-illnesses\/vibrio\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"sowb-button ow-icon-placement-left ow-button-hover\" \t>\n\t\t<span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sow-icon-image\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/bacterium-solid-150x150.png)\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tVibrio\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><div id=\"panel-22447-0-1-1\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_sow-button\" data-index=\"4\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-button so-widget-sow-button-flat-3742c2101054-22447\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t><div class=\"ow-button-base ow-button-align-center\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/waterborne-hazards-control\/recreational-water-illnesses\/mycobacteria\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"sowb-button ow-icon-placement-left ow-button-hover\" \t>\n\t\t<span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sow-icon-image\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/bacteria-solid-150x150.png)\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tMycobacteria\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><div id=\"panel-22447-0-1-2\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_sow-button panel-last-child\" data-index=\"5\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-button so-widget-sow-button-flat-3742c2101054-22447\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t><div class=\"ow-button-base ow-button-align-center\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/control-legionella\/php\/hospitality\/considerations-for-public-hot-tub-operators.html\"\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"sowb-button ow-icon-placement-left ow-button-hover\" \t>\n\t\t<span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sow-icon-image\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/bacterium-solid-150x150.png)\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tLegionella\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pgc-22447-0-2\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-22447-0-2-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_sow-button panel-first-child\" data-index=\"6\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-button so-widget-sow-button-flat-3742c2101054-22447\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t><div class=\"ow-button-base ow-button-align-center\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/waterborne-hazards-control\/harmful-algal-blooms\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"sowb-button ow-icon-placement-left ow-button-hover\" \t>\n\t\t<span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sow-icon-image\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/bacteria-solid-150x150.png)\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tHarmful Algal Blooms\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><div id=\"panel-22447-0-2-1\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_sow-button\" data-index=\"7\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-button so-widget-sow-button-flat-3742c2101054-22447\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t><div class=\"ow-button-base ow-button-align-center\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/swim-healthy\/poolscrypto\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"sowb-button ow-icon-placement-left ow-button-hover\" \t>\n\t\t<span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sow-icon-image\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/bacterium-solid-150x150.png)\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tCryptosporidium\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><div id=\"panel-22447-0-2-2\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_sow-button panel-last-child\" data-index=\"8\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-button so-widget-sow-button-flat-3742c2101054-22447\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t><div class=\"ow-button-base ow-button-align-center\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/swim-healthy\/hot-tub-rash\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"sowb-button ow-icon-placement-left ow-button-hover\" \t>\n\t\t<span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sow-icon-image\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/bacteria-solid-150x150.png)\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tHot Tub Rash\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Swimming &amp; Diarrhea Free-Living Amoeba Other Gastrointestinal Illness Vibrio Mycobacteria Legionella Harmful Algal Blooms Cryptosporidium Hot Tub Rash<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":453,"featured_media":0,"parent":8591,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22447","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Recreational Water Illness - Environmental Health<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Germs are found in the places we swim and can make people sick. Stay safe and lean more about recreational water illnesses.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/swim-healthy\/recreational-water-illness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Recreational Water Illness - Environmental Health\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Germs are found in the places we swim and can make people sick. Stay safe and lean more about recreational water illnesses.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/swim-healthy\/recreational-water-illness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Environmental Health\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-07T15:33:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/environmental-health\\\/swim-healthy\\\/recreational-water-illness\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/environmental-health\\\/swim-healthy\\\/recreational-water-illness\\\/\",\"name\":\"Recreational Water Illness - Environmental Health\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/environmental-health\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-27T14:23:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-07T15:33:43+00:00\",\"description\":\"Germs are found in the places we swim and can make people sick. Stay safe and lean more about recreational water illnesses.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/environmental-health\\\/swim-healthy\\\/recreational-water-illness\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/environmental-health\\\/swim-healthy\\\/recreational-water-illness\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/environmental-health\\\/swim-healthy\\\/recreational-water-illness\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/environmental-health\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Swim Healthy, Virginia!\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/environmental-health\\\/swim-healthy\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Recreational Water Illness\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/environmental-health\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/environmental-health\\\/\",\"name\":\"Environmental Health\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/environmental-health\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Recreational Water Illness - Environmental Health","description":"Germs are found in the places we swim and can make people sick. Stay safe and lean more about recreational water illnesses.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/swim-healthy\/recreational-water-illness\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Recreational Water Illness - Environmental Health","og_description":"Germs are found in the places we swim and can make people sick. Stay safe and lean more about recreational water illnesses.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/swim-healthy\/recreational-water-illness\/","og_site_name":"Environmental Health","article_modified_time":"2026-05-07T15:33:43+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/swim-healthy\/recreational-water-illness\/","url":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/swim-healthy\/recreational-water-illness\/","name":"Recreational Water Illness - Environmental Health","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-04-27T14:23:42+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-07T15:33:43+00:00","description":"Germs are found in the places we swim and can make people sick. Stay safe and lean more about recreational water illnesses.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/swim-healthy\/recreational-water-illness\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/swim-healthy\/recreational-water-illness\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/swim-healthy\/recreational-water-illness\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Swim Healthy, Virginia!","item":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/swim-healthy\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Recreational Water Illness"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/","name":"Environmental Health","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/453"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22447"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22573,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22447\/revisions\/22573"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}