Lancashire Residents Urged To Boil Drinking Water ...

[Arthur Little]

... following the discovery of a cryptosporidium bug at a treatment works, hundreds of thousands of residents across certain areas of the county - including Blackpool, Chorley and Preston - are being urged to boil drinking water.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/aug/06/lancashire-boil-drinking-water-cryptosporidium-bug ... :ReadIt:

[les_taxi]

Blackpool - no .... :biggrin:

[Dedworth]

Toilet roll sales will be booming :yikes:

[Michael Parnham]

Why not use Black Mica Extract in the water supply? :Erm:

[les_taxi]

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q253/lestaxi1/10407488_1141339179225857_4418788058447043817_n.jpg (http://s138.photobucket.com/user/lestaxi1/media/10407488_1141339179225857_4418788058447043817_n.jpg.html)

[Dedworth]

:icon_lol:

[Doc Alan]

As " low levels " of the parasite remain in the water supply further tests are needed before the " all clear 2 and it’s not yet known how traces got into the treatment works, or if anyone has been infected ( incubation period 5 – 10 days ).


• Cryptosporidiosis may not be the first " bug " to come to mind as a cause of diarrhoea, but it does cause a few thousand cases each year in the UK – and has a worldwide distribution. It’s a protozoan – two major species are C. hominis ( humans ) and C. parvum ( in many species including cattle in the UK and carabao in the Philippines ). Infection is usually from faecally-contaminated water or food.


The cysts ( “ oocysts “ ) are infectious at low doses ( 10 – 30 for humans ) - they attach to and enter cells lining the small bowel, but are resistant to treatment. They are also resistant to chlorine in swimming pools ! They ARE killed by boiling water.


• The parasite may be transmitted from livestock ; personal contact with affected individuals ( who may not have symptoms ) ; food such as raw milk, meat, shellfish, fruit and vegetables ; contaminated swimming pools or water supplies.


• It typically causes low-grade fever and diarrhoea. People most at risk are children, or adults with immune deficiency such as HIV/AIDS. IF symptoms persist and they are unusually severe, treatment may be difficult, because the drugs available are of unproven benefit ( and are not licensed in the UK ).


• However, to keep up the " good news theme " on the Forum, in healthy individuals the disease is self-limiting and just needs standard fluid replacement until they recover :xxgrinning--00xx3:. Hopefully the only people likely to need extra toilet paper are the United Utilities and Public Health individuals responsible for detecting and preventing infection with this nasty parasite :smile:.