Stay Connected With Us

Mud Races can Lead to Serious Gastrointestinal Infections: CDC

Mud Races can Lead to Serious Gastrointestinal Infections
(Photo : Flickr) Mud Races can Lead to Serious Gastrointestinal Infections

Swimming and running across muddy pools in obstacle-races can lead to severe gastrointestinal infections, according to a study.

Tough Mudder is part of the obstacle training by the defense forces that requires soldiers to cross large puddles to build endurance, team work and overcome fears. Two years ago, the health department at the Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas in Nevada received three military officials who complained of severe vomiting and diarrhea after taking part in the obstacle-run in the town of Beatty, reports the Atlantic.

 The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found all soldiers had ingested muddy water that was contaminated with the bacteria 'Campylobacter coli'. This bacterium is known to cause long duration sicknesses with symptoms of watery stools, abdominal pain, cramps and high fever within  two to five days after infection.

Many people contract the illness by eating raw and undercooked poultry. The CDC experts noted these infections were due to accidental swallowing of muddy water that contained traces of cattle and swine feces even though the participants did not report seeing any animals during the race. The agency identified four confirmed cases and 18 suspected with infections. In addition, the investigators discovered the illness was not caused by the water and food supplied by the organizers. Previously recorded data suggest campylobacter infected nine people in a bike race in Wales during 2008 and 10 others from British Columbia in 2010.

Tough Mudder, Warrior Dash or Spartan race are conducted as adventure sports and socio-physical events in U.S. and are extremely popular around the world. Some of these races also include hurdles like electric shocks and freezing ice baths to test mental and physical fitness of the participants. These can potentially increase the risk of injuries, long term damages to health and even death.

Event organizers and adventure enthusiast should be aware of the risk of f waterborne infections caused due to animal fecal contamination and presence of other harmful material in water.

"Participants also need to be encouraged to seek appropriate medical care for post-competition diarrhea," The officials said in the report. "Especially bloody diarrhea, and to inform medical personnel of their exposure."

May 03, 2014 09:14 AM EDT

MD News Daily
Real Time Analytics