During a family vacation in Italy, an 11-year-old girl got infected with gonorrhea while bathing at the edge of the thermal pool called Mirror of Venus. It is a lake with volcanic hot springs on the island of Pantelleria.
Experts believe that the girl must have contracted the infection, which is usually transmitted sexually, from the water used by a person infected with gonorrhea. Experts say this case sheds light on the risk of children catching a sexually transmitted infection from pools.
11-Year-Old Girl Caught Gonorrhea From a Thermal Pool
In a case study, titled "Gonococcus Infection Probably Acquired From Bathing in a Natural Thermal Pool: A Case Report" published in the Journal of Medical Case Reports, researchers detailed the cause of an 11-year-old Austrian girl who was on vacation with her parents and seven-year-old sister in August 2020.
Daily Mail reported that the girl was soaking for an hour in a 20cm deep thermal pool at the lake's pool with her father and other tourists while her mother and sister were bathing at a separate side of the pool.
After two days, the girl complained of a painful burning sensation, which they initially treated with an over-the-counter anti-fungal cream for one week as they continued their vacation. However, it failed to eradicate the symptoms, so the girl was brought to their family GP when they arrived home in Austria.
The doctor found that she tested positive for gonorrhea, so other family members tested for the infection. But they all came back negative. The 11-year-old girl insisted that she had not had sex, the most common mode of transmission of the bacteria. Since her symptoms only started during their vacation and there is no evidence of the sexual contract, they concluded it must have come from the pool water.
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How Did the Girl Get Infected With Gonorrhea?
The girl was immediately treated with antibiotics and has since fully recovered. The authors noted that pools on the edge of the Mirror of Venus have a range of factors that enabled the transmission of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the bacteria that causes gonorrhea possible. They described the pool as almost stagnant with near body temperature, slightly acidic, and containing organic material to help the bacteria survive in the shallow water.
As New York Post reported, most bacteria thrive in mild temperatures between 41 and 35 degrees Fahrenheit, and the human body provides that requirement having a temperature of roughly 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
Case study author Professor Felicity Goodyear-Smith said that the public should be aware of the possible dangers of sharing STI-contaminated water in these famous vacation spots and that the management of these facilities should ensure the safety and hygiene of the people using them as young people are particularly susceptible to this type of unusual gonorrhea infection.
Can STI be Transmitted Via Swimming Pools?
The Austrian girl's case is a very rare one that caught the attention of many experts. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reminds us that gonorrhea and other STIs are mainly transmitted via sexual intercourse.
Infectious disease specialist Dr. Edward Brooks from Stanford Health Care told Huff Post that there is no evidence that anyone can get an STI from swimming in a pool unless they engage in sexual activity while in the water. He emphasized that there should be an intimate exchange of bodily fluids to transmit these bacteria to someone else.
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