Disease scare prompts advice to boil tap water
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Boiling tap water before drinking it is strongly advised for people living in flooded areas, after 72 cases of diarrhoea were reported at a Nonthaburi condominium.
Drinkers are also advised to select bottled water certified by the Food and Drugs Administration or to drink from filters or purifiers certified by industrial standards, said the Department of Disease Control (DDC).
A Department investigation into the 72 cases, found that each person had drunk tap water without boiling it. Boiling should be for five minutes and chlorine is provided free at the DDC, said a Department official.
Salmonella bacteria were found in a few of the tap water samples collected, “but it is in such small amounts that it is not considered dangerous,” said DDC director-general Dr Phornthep Siriwanarangsan.
A department adviser, Dr Sopon Iamsirithavorn, said the contamination of tap water at the condo was likely caused by water from the Prapa canal being mixed with floodwater.
Since tap water tanks at the condo were flushed, and new supplies mixed with chlorine, no further cases of diarrhoea have been reported.
People who suffering dehydration due to diarrhoea are advised to drink 750cc of clean water mixed with five teaspoons of sugar and half a teaspoon of salt.
“If the diarrhoea persists, or vomiting and bloodied bowel movements are found, they should consult a doctor,” said Sopon.
