USA Swimming team members are recovering from acute gastroenteritis as they compete in the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, a spokesperson for the team told NPR on Sunday.
The team's medical staff has been "treating those experiencing symptoms and advising the team on further preventative and recovery measures," Nikki Warner, senior communications director for USA Swimming, said. Warner did not say which swimmers were impacted or how they contracted the virus.
Acute gastroenteritis, sometimes called a stomach bug, is an illness that can lead to diarrhea, nausea, stomach pain and vomiting, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It can be caused by viruses such as the norovirus, bacteria such as E. coli, parasites including giardia, and certain medicines or toxins.
The norovirus alone causes 685 million cases of acute gastroenteritis worldwide each year, the CDC also says. Traveler's diarrhea, a common form of acute gastroenteritis, can occur from contaminated food or water. Some cases of acute gastroenteritis are treated with IV fluids and medication including antibiotics. It is unknown what type of gastroenteritis USA swim team members are recovering from.
Some team members missed events over the weekend. Torri Huske, 22 years old and an Olympic gold medalist, did not compete in the women's 100m butterfly heat on Sunday to "prioritize her efforts in the 4x100m freestyle relay," USA Swimming said on social media late Saturday. Claire Weinstein, 18 years old and also an Olympian, did not race in the women's 400m freestyle.
Huske, along with fellow team members Kate Douglass, Erin Gemmell and Simone Manuel, won the silver medal in the women's 4x100m freestyle relay on Sunday.
"It means a lot," Manuel said in a statement on winning the medal. "I think the team has definitely had to be adaptable and resilient, and for us to still post a solid time and put together really good splits is something that we can be really proud of, given the circumstances we have had to deal with."
USA Swimming members Patrick Sammon, Jack Alexy, Jonny Kulow and Chris Guiliano also placed in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay category, winning a bronze medal. And Katie Ledecky won the bronze medal in the women's 400m freestyle race.
The USA swim team is "planning to race and perform to the best of our ability for the rest of the meet," Warner also said.
The World Aquatics Championships continues through Aug. 3.
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