Published On: Fri, May 17th, 2024
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School closes after being left without drinking water due to parasites | UK | News


A primary school was forced to close after being left without drinking water due to contamination issues.

Officials in south Devon are investigating after parasites in the drinking water led to outbreaks of diarrhoea and vomiting in the Brixham area.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said 22 cases of cryptosporidiosis, a waterborne disease caused by microscopic parasites, had been confirmed in the town.

South West Water had told families in the Alston and Hillhead area of Brixham to boil their water after tests found traces of disease earlier this week.

The company has opened bottle stations in the area so families can still collect water.

However, Eden Park Primary School in the town confirmed it was closed on Thursday. It is set to reopen later today.

A school spokesman said: “Thank you for your patience and understanding as we know that the school being closed would have impacted families in different ways.

“We were so pleased to receive our Year 6 children as usual; they worked incredibly hard to complete their final SAT mathematics test. Again, thank you to all our families for supporting the school.

“Moving forward, we are pleased to say that we are able to open the school for all classes (on) Friday 17th May. We have now received a water delivery which will allow us to provide limited water to all children throughout the day. Therefore, we ask that children come to school with their own water as we have limited resources for refilling.”

Speaking to The Guardian, Torbay council said: “We are also aware that Eden Park primary school have made the decision to close today due to not having drinking water. We are not aware of any other school closures.

“Our public health team issued general guidance about cryptosporidium to schools yesterday including its symptoms, treatments and precautions that should be taken. South West Water is delivering bottles of water to schools and nurseries as well as continuing to distribute to their priority list.”

South West Water said tests on Tuesday showed water leading its treatment works was not contaminated, but further tests found small traces of cryptosporidium.

Families are being advised to boil water and let it cool before using it for cooking food or cleaning their teeth. It can however be used as normal for washing, bathing and flushing the toilet.

South West Water said: “We are working with public health partners to urgently investigate the source. We apologise for the inconvenience caused and will continue to keep customers and businesses updated.”

UKHSA South West said it was working with Torbay council, South West Water, NHS Devon and the Environment Agency to investigate.

The UKHSA is warning anyone with severe symptoms like bloody diarrhoea to contact NHS 111 or their GP surgery.

Anyone who catches the disease should stay off work for 48 hours until after they stop feeling ill. They should stay away from swimming pools for up to 14 days.



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