Water problems never end. Milwaukee was the site of the largest cryptosporidium outbreak in U.S. history. The old "Town of Lake" water tower (pic), known as the Howard Avenue Water Purification Plant, became contaminated on about March 23rd and was shut-down on April 8th. Over 100 died, mostly elderly and those with weakened immune systems.In Israel, we do have Cryptosporidium in Lake Kineret and all surface water streams (the few ones we still have). The source is domestic sewage. However, no mass disease episodes were reported.
7 comments:
There was a crypto outbreak in neighboring Phoenix or Chandler about a decade ago. I believe that the cities had to increase the amount of chlorine in the water to kill it. I remember reading somewhere that crypto may be resistant to chlorine.
Is crypto resistant to chlorine? Why hasn't Israel been struck?
Like all the patogens, Cryptosporium is acquiring resistance to chlorine and higher doses are required. It is also perfecting itself to exploit better the modern water supply system, which is very different from water in Nature. People dont realize how fragile is our advantage regarding these small bacteria. I give you a personal example: my mother underwent an operation and spend a month in a sanatory for old people. There she was infected by a resistant variety of some pulmonary bacteria, and was very near to death. Later I learned that old people´s sanatories are like slughterhouses, the chances to come out alive are very slim. Hospitals are becoming most dangerous, I intend to avoid them as long as I can.
Maybe we should a stick to well water, or use good filters for drinking water. Hospitals are a problem in the US too. Some of our bacterial problems come from having strange immigrants from strange areas bringing diseases and parasites that our doctors have never seen. Your problem could stem from all of the Russians Israel has been taking in, since drug-resistant TB and other diseases are currently rampant in the former Soviet Union.
Off topic, but do you know of any municipalities that are using ozone instead of chlorine to kill the bugs in their water? I've heard it may be a substitute for chlorine, but I could be misremembering.
We are not using ozone here, but chlorine and ultrafiltration.
ultrafiltration? I didn't know any cities filtered their water that well.
J, do you mean ultraviolet filtration or ultrafiltration?
Ultraviolet light is not applied in Israel. It has no residual effect.
I meant filtration. I understand ultrafiltration has a different definition in the USA, mostly for phama applications, that is not what I tried to say. Just a higher degree of the standard sand filters.
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