SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — With the 4th of July holiday weekend rapidly approaching, health experts say they are still unsure about what caused a recent E. coli outbreak at Lake Anna.
When it comes to E. coli, it’s easy to spot the symptom, but harder to spot the cause. 8News spoke with health experts like Virginia Department of Health (VDH) State Epidemiologist Dr. Laurie Forlano and Julie Henderson, VDH’s Office of Environmental Health Services Director.
“It could be some runoff from farms,” Dr. Forlano said when asked about what could have caused the E. coli outbreak. “It could be livestock in the area, it could be boats that discharged sewage, it could be other sources.”
VDH officials partnered with local, state and federal agencies this past month to determine how 25 people contracted E. coli after swimming in Lake Anna over Memorial Day weekend. Sen. Tim Kaine called the outbreak “troubling” and offered federal support to trace the cause.
“We’re going to follow that with interest,” Kaine said.
State health officials said routine water testing didn’t indicate levels of fecal matter that would typically warrant concern, but Lake Anna’s water is likely the source of a toxic S-TEC bacteria, which went undetected.
8News was the lake all day on Monday and saw many people of all ages in the water, so our team asked Dr. Forlano and Henderson how concerned people should be.
“It’s a reassuring direction,” Dr. Forlano said. “We’re not really seeing ongoing lots and lots of cases continuing.”
She said it will be tricky — if not impossible — to definitively detect where the bacteria originated from. She added that, in the meantime, people should practice safety measures like not swimming within three days after rain, avoiding any water near livestock, showering after contact with lake water and avoiding areas that have a green film over them or an unusual odor.
Officials told 8News that, though new cases haven’t been popping up, it cannot yet be confirmed whether the type of E. coli that caused the severe illnesses is present in Lake Anna.
If you were in Lake Anna during memorial day weekend — or any time since — and have experienced any sort of stomach bug or pain, health experts recommend contacting your local health department. Additional resources can be found here.
SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — With the 4th of July holiday weekend rapidly approaching, health experts say they are still unsure about what caused a recent E. coli outbreak at Lake Anna.
When it comes to E. coli, it’s easy to spot the symptom, but harder to spot the cause. 8News spoke with health experts like Virginia Department of Health (VDH) State Epidemiologist Dr. Laurie Forlano and Julie Henderson, VDH’s Office of Environmental Health Services Director.
“It could be some runoff from farms,” Dr. Forlano said when asked about what could have caused the E. coli outbreak. “It could be livestock in the area, it could be boats that discharged sewage, it could be other sources.”
VDH officials partnered with local, state and federal agencies this past month to determine how 25 people contracted E. coli after swimming in Lake Anna over Memorial Day weekend. Sen. Tim Kaine called the outbreak “troubling” and offered federal support to trace the cause.
“We’re going to follow that with interest,” Kaine said.
State health officials said routine water testing didn’t indicate levels of fecal matter that would typically warrant concern, but Lake Anna’s water is likely the source of a toxic S-TEC bacteria, which went undetected.
8News was the lake all day on Monday and saw many people of all ages in the water, so our team asked Dr. Forlano and Henderson how concerned people should be.
“It’s a reassuring direction,” Dr. Forlano said. “We’re not really seeing ongoing lots and lots of cases continuing.”
She said it will be tricky — if not impossible — to definitively detect where the bacteria originated from. She added that, in the meantime, people should practice safety measures like not swimming within three days after rain, avoiding any water near livestock, showering after contact with lake water and avoiding areas that have a green film over them or an unusual odor.
Officials told 8News that, though new cases haven’t been popping up, it cannot yet be confirmed whether the type of E. coli that caused the severe illnesses is present in Lake Anna.
If you were in Lake Anna during memorial day weekend — or any time since — and have experienced any sort of stomach bug or pain, health experts recommend contacting your local health department. Additional resources can be found here.