The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made a splash on social media when it warned Americans against swimming with diarrhea this summer — with some joking the agency’s animation went poo far.
“Don’t leave your mark at the pool this summer!” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted on Twitter ahead of the July 4 holiday weekend.
“It only takes one person with diarrhea to contaminate the entire pool,” the agency added, along with a gif of a girl going down a slide while leaving an unmistakable brown streak in her wake.
In another post, it wrote: “Diarrhea and swimming don’t mix! Follow CDC’s Steps for Healthy Swimming to help protect yourself and those you care about from illness at the pool.”
Along with the message is a cartoon image of a girl submerged in a toilet bowl while wearing swimming goggles and a snorkel.
“If you wouldn’t do this …,” the adjoining caption reads, “… then why would you do THIS?”
The question refers to a boy pooping in a pool – leaving another stomach-churning visual.
Social media users quickly took note of the runs and dumped on the bizarre campaign.
“I saw it, so you have to as well,” one nauseated critic said in a tweet.
“Imagine spending thousands on an art education, to one day be asked by the federal government to create an animated gif of smeared poo. That’s wild,” another responded.
“Does this happen so often that you needed to warn us!? the graphic was not needed. if they’re using twitter, it’s because they can read,” another disgusted Twitter user insisted.
Meanwhile, others just poked fun at the unexpected PSA.
“The look of bliss on the kid’s face as she leaves a giant skidmark on the slide is priceless,” one observant commenter pointed out.
“Forget #covid19 beware of #s—-y kids,” another joked.
On the serious side, the CDC also posted a link for a description of how germs spread in recreational water.
“Stay out of the water if you are sick with diarrhea. If you have been diagnosed with Crypto, don’t go back in the water until 2 weeks after diarrhea has completely stopped,” it explains.