Water parasite outbreak to last 'at least' a week
An outbreak of a diarrhoea-type illness is expected to last for "at least" a week in south Devon, with people told to boil their tap water until further notice.
Public Health said 22 cases of cryptosporidiosis had been confirmed in Brixham and up to 100 people had reported symptoms to their GP in the last week.
Infections from the parasite cryptosporidium can be caused by drinking contaminated water or swallowing it in swimming pools or streams.
A Brixham primary school has closed as it said running a school without drinking water was "not possible".
South West Water (SWW) said the Hillhead reservoir and the wider Alston area were being investigated as a potential cause for the outbreak - an area which about 40,000 residents get their water supply from.
Prof Paul Hunter, a specialist in microbiology and infectious disease, said cases would continue to climb even after the source was found.
He said: "It's difficult to know how big these outbreaks turn out to be and it depends on whether the contamination event is a very short lived thing.
"The difficulty here is that cryptosporidium can take up to about 10 days before you become ill, so even if they stop the infection today we'd still see new cases occurring for at least another week to 10 days."
'Boil drinking water'
SWW is continuing to advise people to boil their tap water and has set up water stations across Brixham for residents to collect free bottled water.
A water collection point at Broadsands Car Park is open from 06:00 until 21:00 BST.
Mr Hunter said SWW needed to "find out what the source is [and] try and either bypass that or clean that and flush out the system".
"In the meantime people should boil their drinking water and that's not just water that you drink in a glass, that includes water used for brushing your teeth," he said.
The UK Health Security Agency said it was continuing to work with Torbay Council, SWW, NHS Devon and the Environment Agency to investigate the cause.
Outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis, which cause prolonged diarrhoea, affect between 3,000-6,000 people a year in the UK, according to health officials.
There is no effective antibiotic for treating it but most people recover.
It is usually waterborne – and those infected either drink water contaminated by the cryptosporidium parasite or swallow dirty water in swimming pools or streams.
It can also be caught from contact with animal manure.
This is usually the most common way people become unwell, with a spike coming in spring when farms hold open days.
Most people recover, but some can become seriously ill such as very young children and those with particularly weak immune systems.
For many, the diarrhoea can last for two weeks or more.
Primary school closed
Eden Park Primary & Nursery School in Brixham said it had "made the difficult decision" to close due to it not having any drinking water for its students.
In a statement to parents, the team said it had not received "water or communication" from SWW regarding a delivery of bottled water.
It said: "As you will understand, running a school without drinking water is not possible.
"We remain hopeful about opening again on Friday pending deliveries and the situation."
Year 6 students, who are set to take their SATs, are still expected to attend to sit exams and then be collected by parents or guardians at 11:15 BST.
Guy Highfield, a Brixham resident who said he was "very ill" last week, was disappointed with the location of a water station in Goodrington, in Paignton.
Mr Highfield said it was "nowhere near" the Hillhead area and expressed concerns for elderly and vulnerable people who may be unable to collect bottled water.
He added he had picked up about "20 homes" worth of bottled water to deliver to others.
"We're only here because we've seen it on social media," he said.
"Even the leaflet drop person last night didn't tell us we could come and collect it.
"Get a delivery drop out to some of the elderly and vulnerable people in those areas."
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