Ironically, during the heat wave, a swimming lake in Styria was officially closed due to a parasite infestation: the larvae of the tail fins (cercaria) have multiplied so quickly in the swimming lake Wechselland in Pinggau that the mayor had no other choice. The larvae can cause so-called swimmer’s eczema. The unpleasant result: itching and rash. The lake had to be closed for the second time this year.
With the high temperatures, cooling off in the water is a blessing – but it is precisely the heat that has made the Wechselland swimming lake unusable for people to bathe in. The weather favors the proliferation of flounder larvae, which actually prefer water snails and ducks as hosts. If the invasion is too violent, the parasites are misled and become a problem for humans as well.
“It’s like this is the second time we’ve had a Cercaria invasion. We fill the lake with drinking water every year and it was hot in early July when we had the problem. And now the next heat wave is here and the same problem again – we responded immediately and closed the lake for swimming,” Leopold Bartsch, mayor of Pinggau, told orf.at.
Terrain and canteen still open
The site will remain accessible to visitors, but the canteen will also remain open. “Of course this is very painful for the community, because we want to make it more available to the population. But because of the high temperatures this has already happened twice this year. We will – unfortunately this will only be possible in the autumn – now further take action,” said the mayor. The planned measures include new gravel and intensive liming.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
