A schoolgirl spent two nights in the hospital after being infected by a parasite in the sea – causing her mother to warn other parents of the dangers.
Erin Town, 12, was hospitalized after being infected with Cryptosporidiosis, an infection caused by a parasite called Cryptosporidium.
She became unwell after swimming for a few days at Wildersmouth Beach in Ilfracombe, Devon, where it was not recommended to swim because of the poor quality of the water.
But Erin's mother Paulina Town said she has no idea this is the case, and would not have let her daughter swim if she had known, Devon Live reports.
Erin's mother has issued a warning to other parents after her daughter is seriously ill
Paulina said, "Erin and her friends have been swimming in Wildersmouth almost every day for the past two weeks as the weather was good.
"About two weeks ago she was being treated with antibiotics for an ear infection, but on Friday, July 20, she began to feel generally uncomfortable.
"She had a high temperature and coughed a lot, though the doctor initially pointed to tonsillitis, which she often detected."
However, Paulina said Erin's condition worsened the following Monday.
She said, "Her temperature rose to about 40 degrees and she had bad stomach cramps.
"Then she started vomiting and could not stop anything.
"We took her to the doctors on Tuesday and he was worried about her, so she sent her to the Caroline Thorpe Pediatric ward in North Devon District Hospital.
"At first, they thought it was Norovirus, as this has recently gone round."
However, when Erin's test results came back, something else happened.
Paulina said, "Their tests showed that this disease Cryptosporidium, which they told me, is common in water.
"When I told the nurse that she had swum in Wildersmouth, Ilfracombe, she pulled a face slightly and said that several people were ill after swimming.
"She said she would not even take her dog in the water."
Erin had swum with friends at Wildersmouth Beach in Devon
Erin stayed in hospital on Tuesday night and was released the following day.
But after she got sick again, she was resumed on Thursday for another night and had to go on a drip.
Paulina said: "I was absolutely petrified, it was awful.
"We've been living in Ilfracombe for 12 years now and I never knew you should not swim on this beach, I had no idea the water was so bad.
"If we had known, I would never have let Erin swim."
Although there are signs in Wildersmouth Beach advising people not to swim in the waters, Paulina believes that more should be done to warn people.
She said, "The signs should become bigger and more obvious.
"When I posted something on Facebook, most of the comments were from people who did not know you should not swim there – so it can not be that obvious.
"Erin will definitely not go back there and I think it's important to educate as many people as possible.
"I'd hate anyone else going through this, it petrified."
Katy Nicholls, Public Protection Manager for the North Devon Council, said, "The North Devon Council has no records of being notified of this incident by the child's mother, nor have we received a formal notification from a health authority that has a Diagnosis of Cryptosporidium confirmed.
"We currently view this as an isolated incident, and given that Wildersmouth Beach is an unnamed bathing beach, we do not intend to take any further action, so in case we get more reports of this kind, we can try contact us with other appropriate agencies, such as the Environment Agency.