Approximately 20 residents of a small Quebec community have been sickened by what is believed to be contaminated drinking water, with five of them requiring hospitalization.
The municipality of Saint-Bernard, which is located about 50 kilometres south of Quebec City, has been under a boil water advisory since July 17.
The advisory warned the community’s 2,300 residents that they should use boiled or bottled water for everything from preparing food to brushing their teeth.
It did not say why.
One day later, a new statement explained that health authorities were dealing with multiple cases of campylobacter, a bacteria most often found in raw chicken and raw milk, and that there was a possible connection to the community’s water supply.
New diagnoses of campylobacter infection slowed after the boil water advisory went into effect, Saint-Bernard Mayor Andre Gagnon told CTV Montreal on Thursday, suggesting a link between the municipal water system and the illness.
The province’s environment and agriculture ministries are working with the municipality to investigate, but Gagnon said tests of the town’s water supply had yet to find any contamination or any other explanation for the illnesses.
Common symptoms of campylobacter include diarrhea, abdominal pain and vomiting lasting for two to five days.
In rare cases, it can lead to the development of more serious infections.