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

[trinasmail at cox.net]

Oh my. I went kayaking for four hours on the N. Canadian last weekend.
---- Shauna Struby <sstruby at cox.net> wrote: 
> 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
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> ::: shauna lawyer struby
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