Salmonella confirmed in outbreak at Alamosa

Rocky Mountain News

Originally published 12:30 a.m., March 24, 2008
Updated 12:03 a.m., March 25, 2008

Dennis Schroeder / The Rocky

Michael Garcia, 12, pours water for his sister, Marissa Garcia, 5, as she washes her hands after returning home from school Monday in Alamosa. Schools will be closed for the rest of this week.

The outbreak that caused misery for more than 200 people who drank Alamosa city water has been confirmed as salmonella.

Five of six water samples from Alamosa's municipal system have tested positive for the bacteria, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said Monday.

Customers who pay their water bills to the city of Alamosa, which includes those in the Bonneyville subdivision, are advised to drink only bottled water, state officials said. Those who get their water from the East Alamosa Water and Sanitation District can continue to use that water.

As of Monday night, a total of 237 cases had been reported, with 70 confirmed, 10 hospitalizations, and no deaths, said Sherry Dugdale, spokeswoman for the joint information center in Alamosa.

At 9 a.m. today, a heavy dose of chlorine will be sent through the system to flush out salmonella.

Chlorine is effective at killing bacteria in water, but too much can irritate the eyes and skin. The flush of the water system will start in one of the newer neighborhoods in the northwest part of Alamosa but will not affect the entire town. Instead, different neighborhoods would have their water treated with the chlorine at different times.

It was not clear Monday how many homes will be affected in the first of three stages of the process, but the National Guard and volunteers will be going door to door, passing out color-coded fliers to let residents know what they can do with their tap water during the various stages.

Gov. Bill Ritter sent a letter Monday to the federal Department of Health and Human Services, formally asking for assistance.

"While regional mutual aid and state resources have been supporting both their and our efforts to address this public health emergency, the local resources have become overburdened, and may soon become exhausted," Ritter said.

He is asking for five food inspectors, two epidemiologists and two bilingual communications experts, as well as additional water engineers and water-quality experts, depending on how the water flushing goes.

Public schools will be closed through Friday and Adams State College will not hold classes Wednesday through Friday, according to the school's Web site. Updates are posted online at adams.edu/water.

On Monday, flashing highway signs warned people entering the town of the "Alamosa bottled water advisory."

The Holiday Inn Express staff was washing linens, to have plenty on hand during the days or longer that they cannot run their washers.

Some restaurants stayed open and confronted the crisis head- on.

The True Grit Steakhouse had a sign out front that read, "Our water is safe." The Hunan Chinese restaurant offered this enticement: "Free bottled water with meal."

Contaminated cantaloupes

* A salmonella outbreak in the U.S. believed to have started with contaminated cantaloupes from Honduras has affected only one person in Colorado, federal and state health officials said Monday.

* Contaminated cantaloupes from Agropecuaria Montelibano, a Honduran grower and packer, have been ruled out as the source of the illnesses contracted by people in Alamosa.

* Mark Salley, a state health department spokesman, said the single salmonella case in Colorado caused by Honduran cantaloupes occurred several weeks ago.

* The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued advisories to grocery stores and other food service operators to remove the cantaloupes from their shelves.

Hector Gutierrez

What's next

* Officials advise residents to drink only bottled water.

* Today, a heavy dose of chlorine will be sent through the water system to flush out the salmonella.

* Chlorine is great for killing harmful bacteria in water, but it can irritate the eyes and skin, so residents should not take showers for a day or two, Alamosa officials said.