Warning: Water supply contaminated with the parasite Cryptosporidium
Most North Americans and Europeans consume fresh tap water daily without any concern. These developed countries have advance filter systems, implemented chlorine treatments and/or radiation treatments; such as ultraviolet light to kill pathogens. Since the water supply is treated many would believe the source is safe. Is that always true?
Cryptosporidium
This past August the water supply of several Lancashire districts in England (Blackpool, Preston, Chorley, Fylde, Wyre and South Ribble) was contaminated with an infectious parasite, Cryptosporidium. About 300,000 Lancashire households were put on alert. This parasite causes the disease cryptosporidiosis, which includes symptoms stomach cramping, dehydration, vomiting, nausea, and weight-loss. The most common symptom is watery diarrhea. These symptoms may appear after 2 days and last up to 30 days after infection. Chronic or fatal illness maybe develop in susceptible population; which includes immunocompromised, young children, and the elderly.
This parasite is a concern when it comes to the consumption of tap water because it is extremely resistant to chlorine, therefore; the chlorinated treatments have little effect on the parasite. The water company United Utilities advised everyone to boil their water before consumption.
Due this parasitic discovery panic was all over. A local mentioned, “This water thing in Blackpool is a nightmare just went to the corner shop and they were on the last few bottles!” Major supermarkets were running short bottled water since “nobody can drink the water in Blackpool because it’s contaminated and now there’s no water left in any shops.” With the high demand of water and the short supply, people were selling water on the internet for ridiculously high prices.
Water shortage in Supermarkets
United Utilises reassured the public that they were monitoring Cryptosporidium levels carefully through continuous testing. Only trace amounts remain in the source after the first week of August, United Utilities issued boiled water notice until mid-August.
This is a rare occurrence. In 2005 an outbreak of cryptosporidium affected 231people in North Wales and the Cymrus Welsh Water was fined £60,000 and spent another £70,000 to compensate the affected individuals. As for the cryptosporidium contamination from August there were no confirm cases of sickness. An outbreak was avoided due to the quick action United Utilities took.
Here’s a Brief video for your interest!
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Sources of contamination (fecal-oral route):
• Animal waste
• Water sources
Prevention:
• Boil water
• Proper hygiene
• Wash hands
Treatment:
• No specific drug to kill organism
• diarrheal medicine may help slow down diarrhea
• Consume lots of water
What is your opinion on drinking tap water? Do you boil or treat your water?
Sources:
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/596681/Lancashire-supermarkets-bottled-water-parasite
http://www.lenntech.com/processes/disinfection/regulation-eu/eu-water-disinfection-regulation.htm
http://www.bccdc.ca/dis-cond/a-z/_c/Cryptosporidium/overview/Cryptosporidium.htm#heading2
http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/crypto/
http://www.pollutionsolutions-online.com/news/water-wastewater/17/breaking_news/how_did_cryptosporidium_find_its_way_into_the_lancashire_water_supply/35744/
MichelleLui, 
teewong, 
Mandy Tam, and 9 others are discussing.
yichen25 12:46 am on November 11, 2015 Permalink |
Growing up in Malaysia where we don’t have the privilege to drinkable tap water, it has been a practice for us to boil our water before drinking. Even after coming to Canada, I still continue to do so. I personally think that even with the advanced filtering systems and treatments, there is still the possibility of post-treatment contamination as the pipes that carried the water to household might be contaminated. Therefore, I strongly believe that boiling yr water before drinking is the best way to avoid being contracted with any unwanted diseases.
MarinaMoon 3:00 am on November 13, 2015 Permalink |
Similar to Yichen, back in Korea we always boiled our water before drinking because the tap water was not safe to drink. However, for me, after coming to Canada, I adapted a habit of drinking from tap water especially since I started living by myself. I never doubted that there could be a contamination in something that I consume everyday, but now I realized that I should be more concerned about what I consume and although it is still safe in Canada, to boil the water before drinking. It’s scary how there seems to be increase in pathogens that are resistant to so many sanitation practices. This particular pathogen only cause mild symptoms which is relieving, but I wonder what would happen when something more resistant and more pathogenic appear in food product or water that we consume everyday. In the future, there could be pathogens that arise which is resistant to chlorine and heat, which would further complicate the prevention process.
catherine wong 10:42 pm on November 13, 2015 Permalink |
This was an extremely interesting article. At home I always boil my water before drinking it because I’ve heard about tap water being unsafe to drink sometimes. However when I’m out in the public and didn’t bring enough boiled water from home, I do sometimes drink tap water. I also agreed with Yichen that full trust cannot be placed in advanced filter systems and treatments due to the possibility of post-treatment contamination and there could always be the chance of these systems failing. Sometimes just a flaw in the system could cause great problems and it was just nice to know that there were no confirm cases of sickness for this occurrence. After reading this article, I think I might refrain from tap water even if I’m a little thirsty because it doesn’t seem to be worth the risk of getting sick.
elaine chan 3:01 pm on November 14, 2015 Permalink |
Definitely an interesting article! Water intake is an essential element for human survival, so with an incident like this occurring, it is no surprise that it has caused a panic across the region. I feel rather grateful that I’m living in an area where water filtration systems are present, and the water is safe for consumption once it’s deposited from our taps. However, like Yichen mentioned, at times, there can be flaws in the water filter and treatment systems. Growing up, my family has always had the practice of boiling the water from our tap prior to consumption. It has become a common practice for myself as well , and it doesn’t seem to be a bad idea implement this extra step for safety measures.
RainShen 4:23 pm on November 15, 2015 Permalink |
The safety of drinking water was a big problem in the China before I came the Canada. My family definitely would boil the tape water before drink to make sure all the pathogens have been killed and the water is safe to consume. I know some households in China they do have their own water filter system at home for filtering and de-contaminating their drink water, since the tap water would not only contains some pathogens, but also some heavy metal ions. Therefore, wherever I go, I will boil the tap water if I wanna drink it. Even through the water treatment system here in Canada is very efficient, it may still get contaminated after the treatment before consumed by human.
amreenj 1:39 pm on November 17, 2015 Permalink |
Very interesting article! It is so scary to think that this contamination of drinking water occurred despite the precautionary measures in place to prevent such things from occurring. Having lived in Vancouver all my life, I hadn’t though about this ever occurring. However, I have travelled to a number of countries in which the problem of contaminated drinking water does frequently occur. I think that the quick action taken by the water company prevented a major outbreak of this chronic/ fatal disease. I think that this case serves as a reminder that we must still be aware of the potential for contamination in “safe” drinking water and that water companies should continue to ensure that their water is in fact properly sterilized.
JorgeMadrigalPons 10:57 pm on November 22, 2015 Permalink |
In Mexico, there is also big issues with drinking tap water, since it is not treated for drinking purposes. I almost never drink tap water in my country. Mostly, people buy bottled water for consumption, but many small local food businesses do not. I have heard of many outbreaks caused by the usage of tap water by ice-cream shops, taco shops, etc, (mainly food street). I think that it would be of great benefit to the health of Mexicans, if the gouverment implemented advanced water treatment systems.
dgozali 1:28 am on November 23, 2015 Permalink |
Very interesting article! Ive always been boiling my water before I came to canada but changed my routine when i started living here. I think this is a step that is often overlooked in countries where tap water is drinkable, yet it is probably the most crucial step in preventing outbreaks because water is needed by everyone for drinking and also for washing other foods. If the water has been contaminated, it can go on to cross contaminate fruits and vegetables that are washed with it.
Michelle Ebtia 11:13 am on November 29, 2015 Permalink |
I was initially surprised to learn that there are no effective treatments for patients infected with this parasite! So I did a quick research and found out that there is a moderately effective drug called nitazoxanide available for treatment. However more research needs to be done to come up with an effective option, which according to Miyamoto and Eckmann (2015), has not occurred due to insufficient funding, mainly because historically, this problem has only existed in developing countries. Since the case reported in this blog has happened in England, one might wonder if the research would now gain some momentum.
Work Cited:
Eckmann, L. (2015). Drug development against the major diarrhea-causing parasites of the small intestine, Cryptosporidium and Giardia. Frontiers in Microbiology, 6, 1208.
Mandy Tam 9:23 pm on December 1, 2015 Permalink |
I think chlorine is the major hurdle that most countries have in their water to eliminate pathogen. Knowing that this might not work 100%, I think this is more scarier than Lauren’s post. I think more and more I read the blogs, I really need to reconsider my own eating habits. Maybe I should start boiling my water before consumption.
Anyhow, I am surprised how little researches have been done on such matter after reading Michelle comment. Maybe more surveillance and research should be done in such matter as a lot of people drink water from the tab.
teewong 6:43 pm on December 14, 2015 Permalink |
This is very interesting, especially when both occurrence happened verily close to each other. It makes me wonder if the water companies are taking every precaution to detect these sort of contaminations before it even affects the water. Also, I read from your prevention section that washing hands will help, but I was wondering with what water do we wash hands with when the tap source is contaminated already?
This is a frightening problem to me since I live in Vancouver and we drink out of the tap 80% of the time when we visit restaurants. This could be a potential hazard for many of us if it were to happen in Vancouver as well! I can also see that companies that make bottled water will use this chance to profit from people as it would cause shortages on bottled water supplies when such thing happens.
MichelleLui 9:53 pm on December 18, 2015 Permalink |
Very interesting article! There are so many factors that could contaminate the city water, such as backflow, old pipes and etc.. Preventative measures such as putting in a reverse osmosis system and boiling water are recommended. I have a reverse osmosis system which works for me.