Health reminder after illnesses: If you’re feeling sick, don’t go swimming

Kristi Miller, Pioneer Press
Updated ·1 min read

Dozens of people who swam in Schulze Lake in Dakota County have become ill with a suspected norovirus infection, health officials said Monday.

The Minnesota Department of Health has received more than 60 reports of people ill after swimming at Schulze Lake at Lebanon Hills Regional Park over the past three days, according to Trisha Robinson, waterborne disease supervisor at the department. Health officials are still figuring out exactly what pathogen caused the illness, “but the symptoms and incubation period are consistent with norovirus infection.”

“These types of germs can spread quickly and widely if people who are or have recently been ill swim in the same water with others,” Robinson said. “It’s critical that people stay out of any water until at least 72 hours after symptoms go away so we can stop the spread of the virus.”

She explained that “very small amounts of virus can be left on people’s bottoms, who then go in the water, and people nearby can ingest the virus with small amounts of water as they swim. That’s why we always advise that people who have been ill not go in the water,” she said.

Symptoms of norovirus typically include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or stomach cramps that begin 12 to 48 hours after ingestion of the virus.

Anyone who got sick after swimming at Schulze Lake can call the Foodborne and Waterborne Illness Hotline at 651-201-5655 or email health.foodill@state.mn.us.

More information about waterborne illness prevention can be found on the Waterborne Illness page on the MDH website (health.state.mn.us).

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