Medical News

Cryptosporidium Infects Tap Water

By Andrew ⋅ June 25, 2008 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅ Post a comment

A recent outbreak of Cryptosporidium, a diarrhoea causing parasite, was detected in tap water in the Northamptonshire area. The alarm was raised by water analysts performing routine tests on sampled water and soon after, workers from Anglian Water drove around Northampton streets using loudspeakers to inform residents of the water contamination. Several schools and commercial buildings have closed to protect the general public.

Cryptosporidium is a apicomplexan pathogen and parasite responsible for a condition known as “cryptosporidiosis” and usually only affects those infected for a few days although complications are possible in the very young and elderly. This type of water contamination is not seen very often as most modern water filtration techniques are capable of eradicating traces of the parasite with ease.

Although the amount of people actually infected by the parasite is unknown, it is though to have affected around 100,000 households across Northamptonshire and Daventry, with fourteen schools closing temporarily due to a lack of bottled water. Penny Howell, Headteacher of Chiltern Primary School said: “A lot of the larger schools have drinking water supplied in barrels but the smaller schools have tap water drinking fountains and you just cannot stop the children using these.”

Residents in the areas affected have been instructed to either boil water thoroughly before using or simply use bottled water instead and Anglian Water have stated that due to the high demands of bottled water, they will only be able to provide it to those with special needs.

A spokesman from Northamptonshire County Council said: “In light of the warning to households in the county to boil water, schools in those affected areas are being advised to close if they do not have stocks of bottled water.”

The cause of the outbreak is unknown, and is unlikely to be discovered due to the complexity of the county’s water system but officials have claimed the problem should be resolved soon. Those who believe they may be infected are urged to contact their local GP or NHS direct for further information.

Image: mbettik // Flickr

Tags: contamination, cryptosporidium, water