Parasites in the water, and potentially sheep, may be to blame for the gastrointestinal illness outbreak in Queenstown.
A boil water notice was issued for Queenstown and Frankton on Monday after eight initial cases of cryptosporidiosis were identified, Queenstown Lakes District Council Mayor Glyn Lewers telling media this morning the number has now climbed to 18.
The disease is caused by the protozoa cryptosporidium, a parasite that can cause diarrhoea and abdominal pain.
Otago University parasitologist Bruce Russell joined Breakfast this morning, saying "crypto" is a serious disease and highlighted it is a parasitic illness, not to be confused with a virus or bacteria.
"It's a new kind of bug to many people's minds, but it's highly infective... basically it's associated with severe gastro," he said.
An Otago University pathologist says the outbreak comes as lambing season begins, which may mean animal waste is somehow contaminating the water. (Source: Breakfast)
Though a source of the outbreak has not been found yet, Russel said the timing of it alongside the seasonal change suggests farm animals could be to blame.
"Given the fact that we're looking at a spring outbreak around lambing season, the most likely explanation is basically infected animal waste getting into water sources and contaminating the water."
He said breakouts such as this should "absolutely not" be happening in the water supply, and Queenstown may have a tough battle ahead to stifle it.
"Fresh, clean drinking water is part of what we'd expect in any developed society, and it should be a hallmark of society that you can turn on your tap and drink safe water. I think every New Zealander expects that.
"In defence of the authorities in Queenstown, this is a really tough bug to deal with. They're highly infective and very tough to treat... chlorine is usually used to treat bacteria in the water, but it doesn't affect these parasites. You need to treat the water with UV and filtration."
Queenstown local Niklas Hueber is a suspected victim to cryptosporidiosis and also joined the programme to share — with limitations — his experience with the sickness.
"The details are a little bit expensive for a breakfast programme, but I've definitely spent a fair amount of time in the bathroom," he said.
Seventeen people have now been confirmed as having cryptosporidium. (Source: 1News)
"I'm feeling pretty good now. It's sort of been going on and off for a few weeks... it started off with a rumbly tummy like two weeks ago [then] having to go to the toilet at random times.
He called the experience a "vicious loop" as the dehydration from the sickness drove him to drink more water from the tap, which in turn only worsened the illness.
"We realised [the issue with the water] kind of early on as we have a few people in the house who don't drink the tap water anyway because of the chlorine in it, so those people didn't really get any issues... then we got confirmation just a few days ago."
Hueber and his flatmates found a temporary solution an hour drive away, though says the change feels jarring, especially in a place known for its pristine water.
"We as a flat decided to drive over to Wanaka, they have a nice natural spring over there and we bought a few containers... [we're] thinking about doing that on a monthly basis.
"In Queenstown we have so much beautiful water everywhere... You drink the water from the creeks and the natural springs, it's a different experience than drinking tap water full of chlorine and crypto parasites."
Mayor Glyn Lewers says the district council is looking to bring tankers into the CBD, and it has initiated the business response group created during the pandemic.
SHARE ME