[OKC] E. coli in the ok river sickens 20 atheletes

[Shauna Struby]

About 20 triathletes sickened after OKC event

By MURRAY EVANS 

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - About 20 athletes became sick after participating in a
triathlon this month that included a swim in the Oklahoma River, which has
had problems with fecal coliform pollution, state health officials said
Tuesday.

It is too early to determine the cause of the athletes' illness, symptoms of
which included diarrhea, vomiting, fever and abdominal pain, Oklahoma State
Department of Health spokeswoman Leslea Bennett-Webb said. She said she
didn't know if any of the 20 had been hospitalized.

"It certainly could have been the river," she said, "but we don't know that
yet at all."

She said participants in the Boathouse International Triathlon, held May
16-17, should contact their personal physician if they have any symptoms and
the doctor should call the Health Department. Bennett-Webb said 367 athletes
participated in the event.

She said health officials are trying to contact athletes to see if they are
having any symptoms.

Debbie Ragan, a spokeswoman for Oklahoma City's Utilities Department, said
water samples taken on May 15 near the swim course showed an E. coli count
of 573 per 100 milliliters of water. The Oklahoma Water Resources Board said
standards for "primary body contact recreation," in which there is a chance
water could be ingested, is a 126 count for E. coli.

More here :::  http://bit.ly/ds16R

 

 

 

::: shauna lawyer struby

 

 

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