Winnipesaukee Forum - View Single Post - INFESTATION of Cercariae and Schistosoma at Newfound June 2016

Newfound Resident · 06-27-2016, 04:32 PM

A senior member's comment in this thread is delightful about his/her assumption that this problem is 'well known'. I have been on Newfound Lake since the 70s and my first experience with it was 2011 or 2012. For me at least it is far from well known that swimmers itch exists at Newfound Lake

That experience in 2011 or 2012 resulted in a disastrous family vacation and a cloud of dust as family members departed 3-4 days early with the assumption that their misery was caused by bed bugs. Accordingly, I went to the hardware store and got some bug bomb and bombed the place, I took rugs out for cleaning, all the linens were rewashed at the laundromat, all the towels were rewashed at the laundromat, all the pictures and wall hangings were removed and carefully scrubbed, the family disposed of assumedly bedbug infested luggage, and this was only the beginning as people were looking cross eyed at each other due to their supposed inappropriate behavior and failure to respond in some assumed appropriate manner. Also, I had the exterminators do a visit for a few hundred bucks and only after a two week wait but.....to their credit they found no bedbugs. Indeed, this well known culprit caused financial, psychological, and physical suffering along with mental anguish and an enormous waste of time for people who have been enjoying well known things about the Newfound Region for over 40 years.

It was only after a few more weeks of research and discussions with medical professionals that we discovered that most likely the well known culprit was that thing that supposedly we all should understand as the well known swimmers itch culprit.

Please don't misunderstand me, I admit that I am and have been ignorant of this issue and that is the essence of my commentary. As I mentioned, an 80 plus year old friend and resident of the area had never heard of it on Newfound and he ran a sailboat marina for many years and spent hours upon hours up to his waste in the water launching and retrieving sunfish and other small sailboats. I am almost 70 and I have been in the waters around Newfound for 40 plus years and I had never heard of it either until what I thought was an isolated incident a few years ago. I thought it was just some 100 year flood kind of event. Clearly, the 100 year flood frequency is now on its way to becoming a well known culprit on Newfound as it is for the Senior Member on Winnipesaukee who responded recently.

In fact, there are notices at DES and at other places on the web about this topic but I strongly believe that more needs to be done and I would enjoy hearing suggestions from Forum readers about what, if anything, can and should be done by NH agencies in an effort to alert the public and residents to this problem.

06-27-2016, 04:32 PM	#6
Newfound Resident Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2016 Posts: 6 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	A well known culprit???? A senior member's comment in this thread is delightful about his/her assumption that this problem is 'well known'. I have been on Newfound Lake since the 70s and my first experience with it was 2011 or 2012. For me at least it is far from well known that swimmers itch exists at Newfound Lake That experience in 2011 or 2012 resulted in a disastrous family vacation and a cloud of dust as family members departed 3-4 days early with the assumption that their misery was caused by bed bugs. Accordingly, I went to the hardware store and got some bug bomb and bombed the place, I took rugs out for cleaning, all the linens were rewashed at the laundromat, all the towels were rewashed at the laundromat, all the pictures and wall hangings were removed and carefully scrubbed, the family disposed of assumedly bedbug infested luggage, and this was only the beginning as people were looking cross eyed at each other due to their supposed inappropriate behavior and failure to respond in some assumed appropriate manner. Also, I had the exterminators do a visit for a few hundred bucks and only after a two week wait but.....to their credit they found no bedbugs. Indeed, this well known culprit caused financial, psychological, and physical suffering along with mental anguish and an enormous waste of time for people who have been enjoying well known things about the Newfound Region for over 40 years. It was only after a few more weeks of research and discussions with medical professionals that we discovered that most likely the well known culprit was that thing that supposedly we all should understand as the well known swimmers itch culprit. Please don't misunderstand me, I admit that I am and have been ignorant of this issue and that is the essence of my commentary. As I mentioned, an 80 plus year old friend and resident of the area had never heard of it on Newfound and he ran a sailboat marina for many years and spent hours upon hours up to his waste in the water launching and retrieving sunfish and other small sailboats. I am almost 70 and I have been in the waters around Newfound for 40 plus years and I had never heard of it either until what I thought was an isolated incident a few years ago. I thought it was just some 100 year flood kind of event. Clearly, the 100 year flood frequency is now on its way to becoming a well known culprit on Newfound as it is for the Senior Member on Winnipesaukee who responded recently. In fact, there are notices at DES and at other places on the web about this topic but I strongly believe that more needs to be done and I would enjoy hearing suggestions from Forum readers about what, if anything, can and should be done by NH agencies in an effort to alert the public and residents to this problem.