General Prevention & Control Measures
Standard Cryptosporidiosis (Crypto) Control Measures for the Childcare Setting
To stop Cryptosporidium from spreading in the childcare setting:
- Educate staff and parents
- Inform all staff about the symptoms of Crypto, how infection is spread, and control measures to be followed.
- Inform parents about the symptoms of Crypto, how infection is spread, outbreak control policies, and needed changes in hygiene and cleanliness.
- Notify parents of children who have been in direct contact with a child or an adult caregiver with diarrhea. Parents should contact the child's healthcare provider if their child develops diarrhea.
- Inform staff and parents of children about Crypto’s potential to be a severe disease in people with weakened immune systems. Immunocompromised persons should consult their healthcare provider for further guidance.
- Exclude any child with diarrhea from the childcare setting until the diarrhea has stopped.
- Children who are infected with the parasite but who do not have diarrhea may be allowed to return.
- Recently returning children can be grouped together in one classroom to minimize exposing uninfected children to the parasite.
- Move adults with diarrhea to jobs that minimize opportunities for spreading infection (for example, administrative work instead of food preparation).
- Establish, implement, and enforce policies on water-play and swimming that:
- Exclude children ill with diarrhea from water-play and swimming activities.
- Exclude children diagnosed with Crypto from water-play and swimming activities for an additional 2 weeks after their diarrhea has resolved.
- Discourage children from getting the water in their mouths and swallowing it.
- Have children and staff wash their hands before using water tables.
- Have children and staff shower with soap before swimming in the water.
- If a child is too young to shower independently, have staff wash the child, particularly the rear end, with soap and water.
- Take frequent bathroom breaks or check their diapers often.
- Change children’s diapers in a diaper-changing area or bathroom and not by the water.
- Prohibit the use of temporary inflatable or rigid fill-and-drain swimming pools and slides because they can spread germs in child-care facilities.
- Practice good hygiene.
- Good handwashing means:
- Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap.
- Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Be sure to lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
- Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the "Happy Birthday" song from beginning to end twice.
- Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
- Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.
- For children:
- Observe handwashing or assist when needed.
- Wash children’s hands when they first arrive at the childcare facility, after they use the toilet, after having their diapers changed, and before eating snacks or meals.
- For adults:
- Wash hands after using the toilet, after helping a child use the toilet, after diapering a child, and before handling or eating food. Note: Where staffing permits, people who change diapers should not prepare or serve food.
- Good handwashing means:
- Reinforce good diapering practices.
- Separate diaper-changing areas from children’s play and food preparation areas.
- Use disposable gloves and change them after each diaper change.
- Use disposable paper over diaper-changing surfaces and change it after each diaper change.
- Ensure children wear clothing over their diapers to reduce the opportunity for leakage.
- Wash hands: both yours and the child’s after each diaper change.
- Disinfect surfaces and objects, including but not limited to bathrooms, diaper-changing areas, food-preparation areas, tabletops, high chairs, and toys.
- Notify the state or local health department about an excessive level of diarrhea or any Crypto cases in the childcare facility. Crypto is a nationally reportable disease.
- Page last reviewed: March 20, 2015
- Page last updated: March 20, 2015
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