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Watch VideoSalmonella outbreak in Alamosa
Story By: Nicole Vandeputte
Source: KOAA
There is an outbreak of salmonella poisoning in Alamosa. More than a hundred people are sick, and that number is expected to grow. For now, people can only drink boiled, or bottled water. Truck loads of donated water are flooding the city. Grocery stores are also stocking up, after getting cleaned out last night. And, at home, people spent the day boiling.
Yvonne lives in Alamosa. She walks us around her home as she shows how she is stockpiling water. She's boiling several pots, and piling bottles of water she bought at the store Wednesday night. She has to use this water for everything, from cleaning dishes, to brushing her teeth.
The drinking water in Alamosa is dangerous. At a public meeting on Thursday, city health officials explained that salmonella has contaminated the water. More than 100 are sick, that number is going to rise. Julie Geiser is the Director of of the Alamosa County Nursing Service. She says, "The total is at 111. We do know that's the tip of the ice berg. There are many people in the community that can't get into a physician, because they're so busy, and the emergency room is overloaded."
Salmonella can be deadly to the elderly, and young. 10 year old Matthew Martin felt it firsthand last week. He says, "I didn't really feel good. I had a stomach cramp, and bloody diarrhea, and a little headache." His mom, Elaine, says, "We thought it was the flu. We waited a few days, took him to the pediatrician, and she told us it was salmonella." Now, they join long lines for donated bottles of water.
At 3 spots in the city water is free, but it's also rationed, so they don't run out. It's a different story at City Market. Trucks of water pulled in Thursday morning. It was a lesson learned the hard way. On Wednesday night, they ran out of water in about 2 hours. Galen Hof is the Assistant Manager. He says, "We're set, and we actually have more on the way, more trucks coming."
It could be a couple of weeks before the water is safe to drink again. In the next couple of days they will be flushing it, so people won't even be able to boil it, they have to use bottled water. City health officials say an investigation is underway to determine how this happened.
