School closes, people told to boil water as disease spreads

A school has been forced to close and residents are receiving emergency water supplies as several people have been diagnosed with a highly contagious disease. People living in parts of Brixham and Paignton in Devon have been told to boil their tap water before using it for anything – including drinking and brushing their teeth.

Eden Park Primary School in Brixham has told parents it had to close because it was not provided with water sources safe enough for children to use. South West Water is distributing bottled water to anyone affected by the Cryptosporidium outbreak.

22 cases of illness caused by the parasite have been confirmed, with residents suffering from diarrhea and extreme illness. Traces of the parasite have been confirmed in water samples and people have been told not to drink or cook with tap water without boiling it first.

South West Water is setting up a bottled water collection station for local people to collect uncontaminated drinking water and SWW staff will deliver bottled water to vulnerable customers who may not be able to reach the collection point.

A spokesman for South West Water said: “We are currently contacting customers via doorposts, SMS text messages, email, social media and voice messages. Information is also available on the website, where people will find a detailed list of affected postcodes. Boil water notices in the form of flyers are hand-delivered to affected customers.”

South West Water has confirmed it has detected the Cryptosporidium parasite in water samples. The water company says it is fully investigating what happened. Hundreds of people have reported symptoms.

Cryptosporidium causes diarrhea as well as stomach cramps, dehydration, weight loss and fever. Sarah Bird, health protection consultant at UKHSA South West said: “We are advising people in the affected areas to follow advice from South West Water and boil their drinking water and allow it to cool before use.

“Anyone with a diarrheal illness should drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration and if they have severe symptoms such as bloody diarrhoea, they should contact NHS 111 or their GP surgery. Symptoms include: watery diarrhea, stomach pain, dehydration, weight loss, and a fever that may last 2-3 weeks Anyone can get cryptosporidiosis, but it is most common in young children between the ages of 1 and 5 and most healthy people they will fully recover.

“For most people, cryptosporidium symptoms can be managed at home without medical advice. Those affected should stay out of school and work for 48 hours after the last episode of illness and away from swimming pools for 14 days after the last episode of illness.”

Locals were advised to boil their tap water and let it cool completely before drinking it. This includes all the water used for drinking, cooking, food preparation and even brushing your teeth.