Health warning as ‘worst illness and stomach ache’ hits hundreds in city

An investigation is underway after hundreds of people were struck down by the “worst illness and stomach pains”. The suspected cyptosporidium outbreak has hit the seaside town of Brixham in Devon.

The UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA) is leading the investigation, the Mirror reports, but full details of the outbreak have yet to be confirmed. It comes after numerous reports were made on social media.

People say they suffered from severe watery diarrhea, nausea or vomiting, stomach pain, loss of appetite and mild fever, some lasting up to two weeks. While the investigation is ongoing, South West Water (SWW) has sought to reassure local residents after their tests on the quality of drinking water in Brixham came back clear.

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A spokesman for South West Water said: “We are aware of social media posts regarding the quality of drinking water in the Brixham area and want to reassure customers that the water supply is safe to continue to use in normal mode.

“We did the cryptosporidium sampling and testing and all the results came back clear. We always monitor our drinking water supplies carefully and are supporting the UK Health Safety Agency with their investigations.”

According to Devon Live, the exact number of cryptosporidium cases remains unclear. The Brixham Fish Town Facebook page has been inundated with posts and complaints from locals citing symptoms.

There are reports of people becoming destitute in the neighboring town of Paignton. Residents in Brixham have spoken of how they have been stupid for days and the negative impact it has on their lives.

Resident Tanya Matthews, who lives at Ocean View in the affected area, claims every household on her street is experiencing the same symptoms. South West Water (SWW) carried out a water quality assessment at her home yesterday morning (May 14) and the results are due today.

Suffering nine days of abdominal cramps and diarrhea while waiting for a cryptosporidium test, Tanya revealed: “I started having stomach cramps and explosive diarrhea nine days ago and it’s been the same every day since. I started to feel a little better yesterday then. today (May 14) it hit me again.

“I called SWW yesterday (May 13) and was told there were 15 confirmed cases of cryptosporidium and UKHSA are looking into it as they don’t think it’s water related. He would not expect so many cases to pass. a whole year for all of Devon and Cornwall so something is wrong. “

Kayley Lewis, another Ocean Drive resident, shared her family’s ordeal, stressing the gravity of the situation. She recounted: “My eldest son Jacob was the first of us to be poor. He arrived at the hospital overnight with severe dehydration on May 5. Then I started feeling sick on May 6th and had terrible stomach pains and watery diarrhea that lasted six months. days.

“My other son Oscar is doing his SATS this week but I have to leave him just to sit his exam and then pick him up because he still has diarrhea and cramps. Both my boys missed a lot of school because of And my youngest daughter, Daisy, just had stomach cramps. I took my sample this morning to the doctors and they told me that every sample is now a team investigating.

A resident of Hillhead, Brixham, who wanted to remain anonymous, shared her ordeal of being confined to bed for over a week after testing positive for cryptosporidium. “I was bedridden for eight days with sickness and diarrhea and was suspended from work for two weeks and lost over a stone in weight,” the resident said. “It is the worst disease I have ever experienced.

“At first I thought it was noravirus, but as it lasted so long I had to get in touch with the doctors. I sent a stool sample that came back as cryptosporidium, which I had never heard of until I saw the post about Brixham Fish Town. I called SWW who said it was the first they had heard of it even though everyone had called.

“Public health told me I will get a call from environmental health but we are still waiting. It appears that most of the people affected are from Hillhead and Higher Brixham.”

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