Angus Council has been criticised for taking five days to close a public swimming pool after a confirmed case of the dangerous bug cryptosporidium just days after an earlier outbreak.
It shut the pool at Arbroath Sports Centre on Monday evening after traces of the parasite were found in a water sample.
It has emerged five-year-old Kirsty Lawson from Friockheim was diagnosed with the painful disease last Wednesday after she visited the pool.
Last night, Angus Council defended what it said was a “proportionate and precautionary response” to the situation after taking water samples.
It said the most recent case involved a different type of cryptosporidium, the cause of which remains unclear.
A strong message has been issued to bathers not to use a pool for at least two weeks after symptoms such as diarrhoea have cleared.
Arbroath Swimming Pool was first closed at the end of October after a handful of people presented with symptoms of cryptosporidium.
After a major decontamination, which closed the pool for more than a week, it reopened on Thursday November 6.
Kirsty visited the pool the following day and fell unwell last Sunday.
“She had diarrhoea through the night but she also had a temperature the next morning so I took her to the doctor,” her 37-year-old mother Bobbie said.
“When I mentioned that she had been swimming the doctor asked me to hand in a sample, which I did the next day.
“Last Wednesday the doctor phoned me and said the test had come back and it was cryptosporidium.
“I spoke to environmental health that morning. They were a bit baffled. They said it was surprising that it would be the pool as it had just reopened and it was clear.
“But it’s such an unusual bug where else would she have got it?”
Aware the pool remained open, Bobbie again contacted environmental health on Friday to ask what action was being taken.
She was told there would be a meeting that day and a sample would be sent away to be tested.
“On Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday hundreds of people were in that pool,” Bobbie said.
“They should have tested the pool the day I told them about Kirsty they shouldn’t have waited a couple of days and then decided to test it.”
Kirsty was off school for more than a week, returning for the first time on Wednesday.
An Angus Council spokeswoman confirmed it was advised about the latest cryptosporidium case last Wednesday.
She said: “Arbroath Swimming Pool reopened on November 6 as water samples were clear of cryptosporidium. The pool had been deep cleaned and tested and all pool plant is operating satisfactorily.
“We were advised by the NHS Tayside public health team on the evening of Wednesday November 12 of one further case of cryptosporidium in the local community.
“Based on the information available the NHS and council teams agreed that a proportionate and precautionary response would be to sample the water and keep the pool open pending results.
“A water sample was taken on Friday morning, November 14, by independent analysts.
“We closed the pool yesterday evening (Monday) as the water sample tested showed traces of cryptosporidium.
“The type of cryptosporidium found in the earlier cases is different from the most recent case. The cause of the child’s infection remains unclear.
“The presence of cryptosporidium in the swimming pool may indicate that the pool has been re-contaminated by pool users.
“Bathers are advised that, if you have had diarrhoea, you must not use a pool for at least 14 days after the symptoms have cleared to prevent any spread of infection to other pool users if in doubt, stay out.”