The Utah Department of Health originally announced hyperchlorination requirements and a ban on young swimmers on Aug. 28, to control a statewide outbreak of cryptosporidiosis. The infection, accompanied by long-lasting, often debilitating diarrhea, is caused by a parasite.

The department said today that while cases are still being reported, the rate of new cases has slowed substantially.

"With the reduced number of cases, we believe it is appropriate to remove the requirement for increased chlorine levels which can cause problems for pools and swimmers," said Robert Rolfs, state epidemiologist, in a statement.

In past years, Utah has seen about 30 cases per year of cryptosporidiosis across the state. As of Tuesday, there were confirmed 1,818 cases - the majority occurring just since July.

State officials will continue to monitor the numbers and local health departments will reinstate stronger restrictions, if an increase appears.

A former ban on young swimmers was later altered to include specifically anyone who wears diapers. That restriction remains in place.

Gary House, Director of the Weber/Morgan Health Department, said in a statement: "We need the public's help to completely eliminate this threat to health. That means preventing both person-to-person spread and keeping the crypto germ out of our pools."

Officials said Utahns can help accomplish that by:

-- Not swimming when sick with diarrhea or for at least two weeks after it has ended.

-- Not letting children who need diapers swim - that doesn't mean just taking the diapers off.

-- Shower before entering the pool and after using the bathroom. If you have children, make sure they shower well with soap and clean their bottom.

-- Wash hands carefully with soap after using the bathroom.

-- If you see a fecal accident in the pool, tell the life guard or pool operator so they can take appropriate action to clean it up and prevent infections.

People who are more likely to become seriously ill if exposed to cryptosporidiosis should still be extra careful and avoid public pools. Those at higher risk include young children, pregnant women and anyone with a severely weakened immune system.

For more information about cryptosporidiosis, visit http://www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming/ or call your local health department.