Health officials are expecting more cases of a waterborne disease in Devon, as an MP said “heads are going to roll” over the outbreak and that the anger among residents was “palpable”.
The UK Health Security Agency has confirmed 46 cases of cryptosporidium infection in the Brixham area, while more than 100 other people have reported symptoms, including diarrhoea, stomach pains and dehydration.
Dr Lincoln Sargeant, Torbay’s director of public health, said while the initial contamination of water in Brixham had been “more or less dealt with”, delays in symptoms developing might cause the number of cases to increase for “up to two weeks”.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Sargeant said: “It’s important for listeners to recognise that in terms of the initial contamination that we think is more or less dealt with, so with the boiled-water notice, with bottled water, we are pretty sure now that no one needs to continue to be affected by contaminated water and we know that South West Water is now actively doing work to flush through the system to make sure that ongoing contamination does not occur.
“However, it’s important to recognise that people may continue to develop symptoms from that initial contamination up to 10 days, some people may even up to two weeks, so the numbers may increase, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the situation is getting worse.”
About 16,000 households and businesses in the Brixham area were told by South West Water (SWW) not to use their tap water for drinking without boiling and cooling it first. Bottled-water collection points have also been in operation.
SWW’s chief customer officer, Laura Flowerdew, said on Thursday that a damaged air-pipe in a field containing cattle was a potential source of the disease.
The Conservative MP Anthony Mangnall, whose Totnes constituency includes Brixham, said it had been “an absolutely disastrous week”.
Speaking to LBC News, he said: “This is such a serious matter that, yes, I think heads are going to roll over this, but it’s more important to get the system back up and running, make sure people have confidence in the network rather than pointing fingers.
“We do the investigation afterwards and we will make sure that those who are responsible are held to account.
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“From starting this week with a denial from South West Water that it was anything to do with them, delaying the fact that the boil water notice came in, meaning thousands of people used the water network, to then issuing it on Wednesday, and there are a lot of people who are very ill.
“So, it’s been an absolutely disastrous week and the anger is palpable.”
A guesthouse manager said the outbreak had caused cancellations totalling “up to £1,000” and that he had heard “nothing direct at all” from South West Water.
Steve Price, who runs the Station Guesthouse near Brixham, told BBC Radio 4: “We’ve had to instigate any contact; there has been notifications coming from Torbay council about numbers to contact, but it’s a shame for commercial businesses because we’ve had no one come round,” he added.
Asked how much his business had lost, he said: “So far, probably anywhere from up to £1,000 in cancellations so far, which is fairly substantial.”
Sian, who runs the Sandy Toes gift shop in Brixham, said: “Lots of people are saying they won’t come down because of the water situation. Obviously, I rely heavily on tourism. If I don’t have a good tourist season, I’m in big trouble.”
Sally Everton, of Visit Devon, said it was a “major concern” that people would avoid Brixham and the wider area.
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