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Everything about the parasite that has caused diarrhea outbreak in British city
The water company has apologized for causing the disease outbreak.
People in Devon, southern England, are suffering from a diarrhoea-like illness, which is due to a faulty valve that may have introduced a parasite into the water network. According to the BBCOn Wednesday, 22 cases of cryptosporidiosis were confirmed in Brixham, with more than 100 people reporting symptoms to doctors in the past week. A primary school in the locality announced its closure, saying running activities without drinking water was not possible, the school said.
Cryptosporidiosis is caused by the parasite cryptosporidium, which can be found in water, food, soil, or on surfaces or dirty hands contaminated with the feces of infected people or animals.
British health officials say such outbreaks prolong diarrhea and could affect up to 6,000 people. according to the BBC.
Meanwhile, South West Water (SWW) has apologized for the faulty valve that caused the disease outbreak in Devon. CEO Susan Davy told the BBC that her company “would not stop operating until the situation is resolved”.
“Our ground technicians have been working around the clock to identify the source of the contamination and rectify the situation so that we can resume normal water supplies,” she said.
“To those in the affected area and our customers in the South West, I am truly sorry for the disruption and wider concern this has caused. Although incidents like this are fortunately very rare, our customers expect a safe, clean and reliable source of information. drinking water,” the CEO added.
SWW has asked its customers to boil the water before consuming it.
What is cryptosporidium?
Cryptosporidium, also called crypto, is a microscopic parasite that can cause a respiratory and gastrointestinal disease mainly accompanied by watery diarrhea, sometimes with persistent cough.
The symptoms of the disease it causes include stomach pain, nausea or vomiting, low-grade fever and loss of appetite. Most people develop symptoms within one to 12 days after contracting the parasite.
Symptoms usually last about two weeks, but can last longer if the immune system is not working properly. In such cases, the parasite causes serious illness and can be fatal.
