Everybody loves the swimming pool. But how clean isthe water in the average backyard or public pool? Ifyou trust chlorine to take care of germs, you're infor a surprise.

人人都爱游泳。但是在普通人家后院的泳池和公共泳池里的水到底有多干净呢?如果你信任氯的杀菌功效，本文可能会让你大吃一惊。

Chlorine and other disinfectants do indeed help toclean the water, but some germs can survive ineven the best-kept pool. For example,cryptosporidium may live in pool water for severaldays. Crypto causes a diarrheal illness and may rinse off the bodies of infected people ordiapered children into the pool. If you swallow infected pool water, you may become sick.Other germs may live for a few minutes or a few hours in a chlorinated pool: Giardia, Shigella,and E. Coli may cause diarrheal illnesses.

氯和其它消毒剂并不能帮助清理泳池，一些细菌甚至能在保养最好的泳池内存活。例如，隐孢子虫能在泳池里生活好几天。隐孢子虫能引起腹泻。受感染者或使用尿布的儿童都能将隐孢子虫带到泳池内。如果你呛了一口隐孢子虫滋生的池水，你可能会生病。经过氯消毒的泳池内，一些细菌也许能存活几分钟或者几小时，例如：鞭毛虫，志贺氏杆菌，大肠杆菌，它们都能引起腹泻。

Pseudomonas Aeruginosa may cause an ear infection called swimmer's ear and also a skininfection called "hot tub rash," that is usually associated with very warm pools and spas. Whilekeeping the correct chlorine and ph levels will minimize water-borne illness, prevention isalso a good idea.

通常在水温较高的泳池和喷泉里，绿脓杆菌会感染人的耳部和皮肤，引起“游泳耳病 ”和“热水浴缸皮疹”发生。控制好水中氯的含量和ph值能最大限度减少水生疾病的发病率，但是做好防护工作仍不失为一个好办法。

Keep diapered children in the water for only brief periods and keep sick people out of the wateraltogether. And, don't ever swallow pool water.

不要让带尿布的孩子在水中停留太长时间，同理也要让病人远离泳池。记住，千万不要吞下泳池的水。