Katherine Hopkins Hospitalized for a Month After Contracting Cryptosporidium in Brighton

Katherine Hopkins, a 35‑year‑old British woman who underwent a kidney transplant in 2010, spent four days swimming at Hove Beach, Lancing Beach and other parts of Brighton’s coast in late May. She reported clear water with no warning signs, but about ten days after her final swim she experienced severe abdominal cramps and diarrhea that forced her to use the bathroom up to thirty times a day.

Medical tests confirmed cryptosporidiosis, an intestinal infection caused by the parasite Cryptosporidium, which she says was contracted from contaminated seawater likely affected by sewage discharge. Hopkins was hospitalized for a month, subsisted on a liquid diet, and lost roughly 15‑16 kilograms. She has since been discharged but continues to experience lingering symptoms and warns other beachgoers about the hidden risks of water contamination.