The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has
warned all residents in Alamosa to stop drinking and cooking with tap water
because they said it might be linked to a salmonella outbreak.
Alamosa, a city of 8,500 people about 160 miles south of
Salmonella is a common bacterium that can cause serious and
sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail in elderly people and
others with weakened immune systems. Symptoms of salmonella include fever,
diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
First cases of salmonella infection began to appear about a
week ago, mainly in people younger than 18, Alamosa County Public Health
representative Connie Ricci said.
Boiling water for 15 seconds will kill bacteria, but health
officials urged residents to use bottled water for brushing teeth, washing
dishes, making ice, cooking, drinking and making baby formula. The tap water is
still good for bathing, as long as people are careful not to ingest it.
According to Dr. Ned Calonge, chief medical officer for the
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, more than 30 companies
have offered to donate bottled water to the community.
Health officials are still working to find out how the water
was contaminated. However, the water system will be flushed in the next few
days, a process that could take a week or more. Until the process is complete,
residents are urged not to consume any municipal water, even if it is boiled,
city officials announced.
A similar case of salmonella contamination in a deep-well
water supply occurred in