You can contract cryptosporidium through SEX and people are contagious without symptoms… new warning from experts about contaminated water parasites

Just when you thought it was safe to start drinking the water again, Brits are being warned that they can get cryptosporidium from having sex.

A total of 77 cases of the parasite, which normally infects people through the ingestion of contaminated feces, have been recorded in recent weeks.

And although drinking water, as is the case in the major outbreak in Devon, and interaction with infected animals are the biggest sources of infection, further cases can spread through sexual activity.

Sexual contact is one of the more unusual routes that cryptosporidium can transmit from person to person.

Cryptosporidium infection causes victims to suffer from diarrhea, vomiting and painful stomach cramps for days, with one patient even likening this to ‘childbirth’.

Locals in Brixham, Boohay, Kingswear, Roseland and north-east Paignton in Devon were all told to boil water as a precaution

Although the outbreaks in Devon and from animal farms in England are believed to be linked to animal feces, it is also possible that people are transmitting the disease to each other.

This normally occurs because hands are not washed thoroughly when caring for someone, such as a parent caring for and cleaning a child infected with cryptosporidium, or food preparation by an infected person.

As bizarre as it may sound, sex is also a risk, even weeks after a person no longer shows symptoms.

Part of the danger is that people who have had the bug can remain contagious for up to two weeks after their symptoms go away.

The threat is so great that in some parts of the world, such as the US, people infected with cryptosporidium are asked to refrain from all sexual activity for at least fourteen days after their last symptoms.

Cryptosporidium is typically passed through amorous activities that combine penetrative oral and anal sex, or specific sexual acts that involve the anus, such as anal fingering or rimming.

Rimming, also called anilingus, is a term for oral stimulation of the anus using the tongue or lips.

Advice from US health authorities urges people to avoid sexual activity with people who have experienced cryptosporidium symptoms such as diarrhea for at least two weeks.

Other similar advice says that those potentially infected should ensure they thoroughly wash their anus, penis and any sex toy involved in such sexual activities with soap and water, both before and after.

International advice notes that men who have sex with men are at increased risk of becoming infected with cryptosporidium through sexual activity.

Similar advice exists for people who have had cryptosporidium infections and swimming.

Cryptosporidium is chlorine resistant, so even swimming in pools is no guarantee against infection (stock image)

This is because spores of the chlorine-resistant parasite can persist in dried spores of poop, which are then washed away when the previously infected person enters the pool, potentially infecting others who get the water in their mouths.

British health officials told MailOnline that they have not provided specific advice on avoiding sexual activity for anyone affected by the current outbreak.

But the UK Health Security Agency does recognize exposure to human faces through sexual contact as a potential route of infection.