Cryptosporidium question

SimpleSam06

I was just thinking there this morning, although Galway County Council has declared the water safe to drink in most areas, all they really did was put UV filtering at the source. We aren't dealing with a chemical spill you can just flush out of the pipes here, these are biological breeding organisms.

Whats to stop them hanging around in the plumbing for months or years more, even becoming a permanent fixture?

forbairt

rent prices ?


I guess they just assume with the water throughput .. they'll be out of the system fairly quickly

SimpleSam06

forbairt wrote: »

I guess they just assume with the water throughput .. they'll be out of the system fairly quickly

They assumed they wouldn't get into the water system as well in the first place, as I recall.

galwaybabe

The UV treatment deactivates the cryprosporidium so it cannot reproduce. What the councils do with the plumbing etc is they add chlorine to the water which disinfects the pipework. Chlorine, however, isn't ideal for a number of reasons. It is difficult to control quantities entering the water and it has been shown to be bad for you in excessive quantities. Also, crypto can survive for up to six hours in pure chlorine. Generally if the water has been UV treated at source it is pretty safe to drink. The only place where there is a chance that crypto can re-enter the system is through leakages (of which there are many). according to the council they are dealing with this matter.
The real problem is tackling the source of the problem, Lough Corrib. This lake is dangerously polluted and is the main source of drinking water. What is needed is a holistic effort to stop the pollution entering the lake in the first place which means strict controls on development, septic tanks and farming activities. There is a serious lack of political will to do this and I can only see it getting worse before it gets better. The ecosystem in the lake is at tipping point at the moment and needs to be urgently addressed.
On an individual level, if a household wants to be guaranteed crypto free water, the best advice is to install a private UV treatment system in your house.
If you would like more info on crypto and the water crisis in Galway you can pm me or have a look at a website I set up here
It hasn't been updated lately but there are many links on it to current info.
Hope your question has been answered

SimpleSam06

galwaybabe wrote: »

Also, crypto can survive for up to six hours in pure chlorine. Generally if the water has been UV treated at source it is pretty safe to drink... Hope your question has been answered

Thanks for the info, but I was asking could there be significant colonies of crypto in the plumbing. Sort of closing the gate after the horse gets out, breeds, and infests your liver. I didn't know about the leaks, but it doesn't make me feel any better.

I'll tell you it would be an interesting project for any bioscience students out there to take random samplings of tapwater from a few hundred households around Galway and test for the presence of cryptosporidium. At the very least it could prevent householders from drinking unsafe water which has been declared safe.

galwaybabe

There won't be significant colonies of crypto in the pipes etc as the oocyst (to give it its technical name) needs an animal (including human) gut to reproduce in.
I agree 100% that more testing needs to be done at the post treatment stage and I think the focus should now be on the levels of chemicals that are being thrown into our drinking water

PopeBuckfastXVI

I have to say Galwaybabe... you certainly know your sh!t.

galwaybabe

PopeBuckfastXVI wrote: »

I have to say Galwaybabe... you certainly know your sh!t.

SimpleSam06

SimpleSam06 wrote: »

. Sort of closing the gate after the horse gets out, breeds, and infests your liver. I didn't know about the leaks, but it doesn't make me feel any better.

.

It can infest your liver!:O
****.All my lecturers have been lying!

galwaybabe

Deleted User wrote: »

It can infest your liver!:O
****.All my lecturers have been lying!

I've never heard of it infecting livers

leninbenjamin

once again a remarkable display of people jumping on the bandwagon. these guys have been around for years yet no one paid any heed to them. It's typical though though, they've actually had to go as far as the EU courts on some issues because they were simply being ignored at home.

galwaybabe

galwaybabe wrote: »

I've never heard of it infecting livers

Sorry.I was being sarcastic!Just a lot of people seem to think that this is up there with Hep B.I know it has nothing to do with the liver.I was referring to simplesam!

galwaybabe

Deleted User wrote: »

Sorry.I was being sarcastic!Just a lot of people seem to think that this is up there with Hep B.I know it has nothing to do with the liver.I was referring to simplesam!

It is "up there" with Hep B in that it can be very dangerous, fatal to some people in fact. There are lots of other nasties floating out there in Lough Corrib too, eg. Giardia, E-Coli to name just a couple

galwaybabe

leninbenjamin wrote: »

once again a remarkable display of people jumping on the bandwagon. these guys have been around for years yet no one paid any heed to them. It's typical though though, they've actually had to go as far as the EU courts on some issues because they were simply being ignored at home.

The only person jumping around here dude is you.....jumping to conclusions that is

leninbenjamin

galwaybabe wrote: »

The only person jumping around here dude is you.....jumping to conclusions that is

well, i didn't mean to aim it that remark directly at you, but still how am i jumping to conclusions? it's been painfully obvious to anyone with eyes on them who goes near a mass of water in this county that the quality has been going downhill rapidly over the past decade or more. and despite the efforts of many to bring attention to this, it never received much in the way of publicity. yet now everyman and their dog is concerned about the water quality and cryptosporidium and whatnot... if that's not jumping on the bandwagon i don't know what is... drinking ban or no drinking ban the quality of the water has always been and still pretty much is pathetic for a western country.

galwaybabe

The problem is that not "every man and his dog" is concerned about this. Throughout the crypto crisis in Galway the level of public apathy was unbelievable. I am speaking from firsthand experience of trying to mobilise some public reaction to the problem. It was maddening, disheartening and so very sad to see how little people cared for their environment. One of the major factors in this was the blind belief that the local authority would sort it all out. This is a nationwide political problem. People hold way too much faith in politicians and civil servants. We have become a nation of spoilt children who expect Mammy and Daddy (aka the aforementioned politicians et al) to do everything for them. This is why our rivers are floating with s*ite, our woodlands are unkempt, illegal dumping is an epidemic etc..etc. We need to stop waiting for someone else to sort things out and take some responsibility ourselves.

leninbenjamin

cool, you make a good argument.

the attitude of the government, local and national has been diabolical for years though. they've constantly ignored the issue mollifying instead the farmers and their quick and easy votebase. they really have a lot too answer for, a lot of the algal blooms are a direct result of their slurry joining into the Corrib. think about it, we wouldn't allow our own shit go in there.... but the farmers can apparently...

there are also larger issues than simply the drinking water situation involved too that has really been overlooked in my opinion. if the authorities really got up off their arse's and decided to make good on the water quality we'd see some real positives for the economy in the region too. fishing tourism is something that's largely ignored but has a lot of potential. we're talking each fish caught being worth €100s if not €1000's to the economy. and instead the government would rather facilitate a hugely inefficient, already over subsidized and practically dying sector while stocks and the general attraction to the region dwindle.

wet-paint

It might even have been here I read it, but I heard that after an outbreak of crypto i nSaudi Arabia, he health minister resigned as he felt he had failed his people.

Toto Wolfcastle

wet-paint wrote: »

It might even have been here I read it, but I heard that after an outbreak of crypto i nSaudi Arabia, he health minister resigned as he felt he had failed his people.

Tee hee can you imagine any of our politicians resigning over anything??I think they mostly specilise in denial.

I really can't understand why certain places, like Galway and Ennis etc have such awful water when other places have perfect water. I'm not just talking about the water being contaminated. The water in Galway smell weird and tastes awful. Up until a month and a half ago I lived in Cork all my life and the water in my house was alway crystal clear. (Although, 5 mins drive up the road the water is horrible!!)

I always knew that tap water contained some human waste and was treated to get rid of the dangerous stuff. (Forgive me, I'm no scientist!!) But I never really thought about it. From that opening post I'm even more glad that I don't drink the tap water here. (Although I'm in danger of dehydration....it's just not the same taking out bottle of water, opening the bottle, pouring the water, etc.....I'm tired just thinking about it!! )

When I get back to Cork I'm going to overdose on water in the safe knowledge that someone may have taken a whizz in it, but at least the nice wter treatment people eh.....treated it!! And no nasty Criptospiridium or ecoli.

I'm curious, how many people here drink the water since the ban (is ban the right word??) was lifted??

wet-paint

It was a boil notice that was lifted.
I haven't drank the water since we got an office water dispenser into the house, free from Ballygowan who don't exactly know it's free. Sweet.
But then you're going to have the knuckle draggers saying that they've drank it all through the boil notice, aren't they great and their digestive systems kick sand in our eyes.
I've chronic IBS though, and already caught the crypto, so couldn't chance it.

Toto Wolfcastle

Boil notice!! That's it!! I still see so many people with full trolleys of bottled water.....I suppose people aren't ready to trust it yet??

leninbenjamin

janeybabe26 wrote: »

Boil notice!! That's it!! I still see so many people with full trolleys of bottled water.....I suppose people aren't ready to trust it yet??

Galway's tap water has always had ****eloads of chlorine in it compared to other places, but the levels have doubled or tripled since the lift of the boil notice. i drink it the odd time, but the mammy still buys the bottled. it's just so much more pleasant from the bottle.

Toto Wolfcastle

leninbenjamin wrote: »

Galway's tap water has always had ****eloads of chlorine in it compared to other places, but the levels have doubled or tripled since the lift of the boil notice. i drink it the odd time, but the mammy still buys the bottled. it's just so much more pleasant from the bottle.

It really is, except when you I have to carry it home on that long 3 minute walk from the shop!! I love water....I just hate turning on the tap to get a drink and realising I wont be able to drink it because I really do hate the taste. Then I have to lug the big 5ltr bottle out...God my life sucks

leninbenjamin

janeybabe26 wrote: »

It really is, except when you I have to carry it home on that long 3 minute walk from the shop!! I love water....I just hate turning on the tap to get a drink and realising I wont be able to drink it because I really do hate the taste. Then I have to lug the big 5ltr bottle out...God my life sucks

bah, you needs to have a more positive attitude. you're giving them biceps a workout.

Toto Wolfcastle

leninbenjamin wrote: »

bah, you needs to have a more positive attitude. you're giving them biceps a workout.

Indeed!! Although some would say there are better ways.......:p

But that is completely off topic!! Apologies!!

galwaybabe

galwaybabe wrote: »

It is "up there" with Hep B in that it can be very dangerous, fatal to some people in fact. There are lots of other nasties floating out there in Lough Corrib too, eg. Giardia, E-Coli to name just a couple

Most types of E.coli are harmless.You and I rink E.coli cell most dat.So crytosporidium ss a dangerous as Hep B?

MaxFlower

Deleted User wrote: »

Most types of E.coli are harmless.You and I rink E.coli cell most dat.So crytosporidium ss a dangerous as Hep B?

Can you please check spelling before posting. This is almost cryptic.

leninbenjamin

Deleted User wrote: »

Most types of E.coli are harmless.You and I rink E.coli cell most dat.So crytosporidium ss a dangerous as Hep B?

yeah, but when there is E-coli in the water it's usually a sign that there is something more sinister in there potentially, that's why they test for it.

galwaybabe

Deleted User wrote: »

Most types of E.coli are harmless.You and I rink E.coli cell most dat.So crytosporidium ss a dangerous as Hep B?

At the moment it is people whose immune system has been suppressed who are most vulnerable to the dangerous effects of cryptosporidium. This group of people would include persons infected with AIDS and persons undergoing cancer treatment. Because they cannot fight the infection, fatality can occur due to constant diarrhea and its associated symptoms of dehydration and malabsorption of vital nutrients. In the case of Milwaukee in 1993, 400,000 cases of cryptosporidiosis were recorded, of which over 1,000 were hospitalised. Of these people, around 50 people died, most of whom were infected with AIDS.

I say "at the moment" as this particular organism is very clever and has been known to mutate. For example, it is only relatively recently that it has been identified as a zoonosis (a pathogen that can be transferred from one species to another e.g,from animal to human). It is thought that this "jumping" from one species to another is caused by humans and animals living in such close proximity to each other. SARS (bird flu) is another example of zoonosis.

We do not know the nature of the beast we are dealing with yet. Research is ongoing and will continue as different forms of these pathogens occur.

There is a quite readable article on the patterns of zoonoses published by the W.H.O here

po0k

Janeybabe26 and galwaybabe, get yerselves an avatar (UserCP -> Avatars) and/or a signature.
Your nicks are too similar and it hurts meh braines

Private Joker

To my knowledge Uv does not kill off the oocyst, i worked in westeath whenever the crypto outbreak emerged there. The only way to efectively remove crypto from the water supply is through micro filtration, the oocyst are about 5microns across so anything below that would be sufficent.

A number of ways were looked at to treat the water and i can remember uv being discounted because of the quantity of water being treated.

Also something which wasnt mentioned at the start of the outbreak was that just boiling a kettle wont kill it , it needs to be "vigourously" boiled for about 3mins to kill it.

tis a hardy bugger

galwaybabe

Private Joker wrote: »

To my knowledge Uv does not kill off the oocyst, i worked in westeath whenever the crypto outbreak emerged there. The only way to efectively remove crypto from the water supply is through micro filtration, the oocyst are about 5microns across so anything below that would be sufficent.

A number of ways were looked at to treat the water and i can remember uv being discounted because of the quantity of water being treated.

Also something which wasnt mentioned at the start of the outbreak was that just boiling a kettle wont kill it , it needs to be "vigourously" boiled for about 3mins to kill it.

tis a hardy bugger

You're right - UV doesn't kill the oocyst. What it does is render it unable to reproduce which means it will pass through the gut of an animal/human without causing harm.
Micro filtration is effective but the clever little buggers will probably get smaller.
The water does not need to be "vigorously boiled". In fact anything above 70 degrees centigrade will kill it but as a safety precaution health boards recommend boiling water to guarantee that the required temperature has been achieved.
There is a lot of mis-information out there which has been perpetuated by lack of adequate information campaigns when these crises occur. (Take note Galway city and county councils in particular)

Toto Wolfcastle

SyxPak wrote: »

Janeybabe26 and galwaybabe, get yerselves an avatar (UserCP -> Avatars) and/or a signature.
Your nicks are too similar and it hurts meh braines

Tee hee that's funny!! Janey is nothing like Galway!! One is a girl's name, the other is a county!! Babe is the same I suppose but here's the clincher: Mine has a number in it!! But if it's hurting you I might consider it!