Splash pads might bring to mind memories of fun in the summer sun — but they can also be associated with waterborne disease, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are warning in a new report released Thursday.

The CDC found 60 outbreaks of waterborne disease at water playgrounds caused 152 hospitalizations and 99 emergency department visits since 1997. The pathogen most present was Cryptosporidium, according to the CDC report. The number of outbreaks reported might be an undercount because of underreporting or misclassification, the CDC said.

Splash pads found in public parks across the United States are linked to thousands of cases of waterborne diseases that leave a calling card of diarrhea, fever and vomiting, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported this week.

Four of the 60 reported outbreaks happened in Virginia -- three of them in 2015 and one in 2019. Across all four, a total of 183 cases of waterborne disease were recorded.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a report detailing waterborne disease outbreaks associated with children's splash pads over the

Sixty waterborne disease outbreaks associated with splash pads were reported during 1997 to 2022, according to research published in the Dec. 5 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.