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Number Of Sick In Queenstown Gastro Outbreak Doubles To 15, Boil Water Requirement Frustrates Hospitality
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Broadcaster and cafe shareholder Jim Hickey receives tea from co-owner Ryan Churchman instead of his morning coffee at Joe's Garage Five Mile, in Queenstown.
There are now 15 confirmed cases of cryptosporidium in Queenstown, which one sufferer describes as horrible and debilitating.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council issued a boil water notice to Queenstown and Frankton residents and businesses on public supplies on Monday afternoon following eight confirmed cryptosporidium cases.
That number rose to 15 on Tuesday.
There is no confirmed link to the water supply, but it cannot be ruled out as the source, the council says.
Cryptosporidium-specific testing began on Monday and results would take about three days.
Debbie Jamieson/Stuff
Coffee was available from lunchtime after water was shipped in from a different residential supply.
The areas impacted are the commercial centres of the central business area and Frankton, including about 7700 homes and 20,000 residents.
Hospitality worker Georgia Williams began suffering from diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, fevers and headaches last week but put it down to a Crohn's disease flare-up.
"I was bedridden. I had no energy. I was so dehydrated, and I was fed up with being sick because I also had the flu two weeks beforehand," she said.
When she had not improved on the weekend she went to the doctor.
"As soon as the doctor saw me she sent me to the emergency department."
A stool sample confirmed she had the bacteria.
"I wouldn't wish what I had on anyone. It's horrible and debilitating."
Debbie Jamieson/Stuff
Visitors in Queenstown are also affected by the boil water notice.
Williams lives at Jacks Point but works in the hospitality industry in Queenstown. Another workmate had earlier had similar symptoms, she said.
Public Health South had spoken to her and tracked her movements, she said.
"It is very frustrating as it has sent me into a Crohn's flare now."
Hospitality businesses have been questioning a lack of communication from the council as it appears they did not receive direct notice of the requirement to boil water until Tuesday morning – more than 12 hours after the council sent out a press release and made social media posts.
Flame Bar and Grill owner Lou McDowell said many bars and restaurants were open and operating on Monday night without knowledge of the outbreak.
"We were closed last night, but we feed 300 people a night," she said.
McDowell read it on a news website on Monday night and only received an email from Public Health South at 9.22am on Tuesday morning.
She had not received anything directly from council as a ratepayer.
Staff had been scrambling this morning to source ice and water from outside of Queenstown for Tuesday night.
"I don't know how long this is going to go for nor how sustainable it is," she said.
Debbie Jamieson/Stuff
Central Queenstown and Frankton are affected by the boil water notice.
Many people and tourists of Queenstown were caught short without their morning coffee as cafés and restaurants scrambled to figure out how to adjust operations to allow for the notice.
Joe's Garage manager Ryan Churchman said there had been lots of confused customers at the Joe's Garage cafés in Frankton and Queenstown, as well as Airspresso at Queenstown Airport.
Coffee had not been available in the morning as coffee machine pumps required cold water to operate and it took time to cool down boiled water.
There were also no drinks such as Coca-Cola and Sprite from post-mix machines.
They were offering cups of tea from the jug, and beer instead, he said.
Staff had purchased a large supply of cans of drink and had brought in water from supplies exempt from the boil water notice.
They were able to start making coffee again in the afternoon.
Most people were pretty understanding although the sleep-deprived were missing their morning caffeine hit.
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Queenstown and Frankton's water supplies are drawn from Lake Wakatipu.
Council property and infrastructure general manager Tony Avery said, although there was no confirmed link to the local water supply, it could not be eliminated as the source of the cryptosporidium.
"It's like looking for a needle in a haystack.
"We're testing at the moment. We can't find any direct link that says that's the effluent discharge that caused this, but it's very hard to disprove, so it's a cautionary approach we've taken."
The council's environmental team were working with food operators and the Ministry of Primary Industries on specific measures and advice for the local hospitality sector, he said.
Properties connected to Lake Wakatipu water intakes were affected including one known as the Two Mile, and one at Kelvin Heights.
The Kelvin Heights intake had a protozoa barrier, so it may be that the boil water notice could be uplifted in that area later in the day.
The Two Mile intake did not have a barrier – either UV lamps or a membrane filtration system, he said.
This was scheduled in the council's Long Term Plan and more work was under way to understand the cost and its priority when the council faced significant funding constraints.
Council-owned and operated water schemes in the Queenstown Lakes District without a protozoa barrier were Queenstown, Wānaka, Luggate, Glenorchy, Wānaka Airport and Corbridge, near Wānaka.
The council had done some testing in the Fernhill area last week following reports of people feeling unwell but only had confirmed cases on Monday morning, he said.
Southern Medical Officer of Health Dr Emma Sherwood said the most common symptoms of cryptosporidium infection are smelly, watery diarrhoea and stomach cramps.
"If you live or work in the Queenstown area or have visited there in the last 12 days and are experiencing these symptoms, please call your GP and inform them," she said.
Cryptosporidium (also called 'crypto') was a parasite found in the gut of infected people and animals. It is passed on in the faeces (poos) of infected humans and animals. People became infected when they swallowed the parasites, usually in contaminated water.
Queenstown boil water notice affected areas:I'm A Long-Distance Hiker With Ulcerative Colitis—Here's How I Manage On And Off The Trail
Having a doctor who didn't believe me could have made me question myself, but the truth is, no one knows your body better than you do. That's a lesson I carry with me every single time I hit the trails, and one I always share in my yoga classes. At the start of each one, I remind the group I'm guiding to honor their bodies and whatever they need that day.
Prep for the unexpected, no matter where you are.Anyone who spends time in the wilderness knows how important it is to be ready for any emergency. But when you have UC, you also have to be prepared just in case your symptoms start causing some chaos.
Whenever I'm making camping reservations, for example, I pick the campsite that's closest to the restroom. Like any responsible hiker, I always carry a trowel with me, so I can go off-trail and dig a hole when I have to use the bathroom mid-hike.
But with UC, I don't always have enough time to do that. Enter: a WAG bag, which is basically a portable toilet kit. Now I bring it on all my hikes and I always have one in my car, just in case. Knowing it's available in an emergency alleviates my anxiety so much.
Alone time is great, but community can also be healing.I used to do most of my hikes solo, which I loved. My husband isn't super outdoorsy, and I'm very comfortable being alone; in my early 20s, I solo-backpacked around Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Southeast Asia.
Lately, though, I've had fun hiking with like-minded women I've connected with through Instagram. Hiking with friends also makes the logistics a lot more manageable, especially as I'm traveling to reach the farther, more isolated sections of the Bruce Trail. More importantly, we support each other outside of the woods too. I know they'll be there when I need an empathetic ear to vent about frustrations or setbacks—or even just some company for coffee or concerts. They're always ready to remind me when I need to take a step back and reevaluate if something is worth my energy.
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Dial into your body to minimize stress.Over the years, I've learned that stress is my biggest UC trigger, and I've found that yoga is a really good way to ground myself, especially when I'm not feeling well. Yoga has given me the tools to slow down and focus on my breathing. When my symptoms act up, I keep my routines slow and gentle; sometimes all I do is savasana (corpse pose). I currently teach a class one to two times a week, in addition to practicing on my own.
Shut off the "shoulds."It's tempting to be hard on myself when I'm unable to do the things that used to be easy for me. During my 2021 flare-up, I was so sick I couldn't hike for more than six months. When I returned to the trails, I did my best to keep my expectations low and to focus on being grateful for the chance to be out in nature again. Sure, I could have beat myself about how much farther or faster I "should" have been going, but how would that help?
Before I attempted to hike again, I started with short walks around my neighborhood. I wanted to rebuild my stamina gradually, plus I needed to stay close to home in case I needed an urgent bathroom break, and I had made peace with that.
So here's another reminder for anyone who is living with UC: Meet yourself where you are. There will be days when you have to scale your plans back or cancel them completely—and that's okay. No one's keeping score. Your health has to come before your workout. And when you're feeling well again, your sport or hobby will still be there waiting for you. I'm reminded of this every time I hit the trails after recovering from a flare. No matter what kind of physical shape I'm in, returning to nature feels like coming home.
Related:
Mom Survives Colon Cancer Twice, Shares Symptoms Doctors Dismissed: 'I Knew Something Was Wrong'
Colorectal cancer can be a devastating diagnosis. Sherri Rollins has now been through it twice, but was determined to get the right treatment and stay positive. She had a gut feeling something was wrong each time, even though doctors initially told her she was fine. The stay-at-home mom, who asked that her age be described as "approaching 50" and lives in Salisbury, North Carolina, shares her symptoms, story of resilience and advice for other patients with TODAY.Com.
Sherri Rollins (Courtesy Sherri Rollins)
I've always been a private person, but I said If I get through this and I live, I want to tell people what happened and inspire them to be their own advocate.
In 2017, life was normal except that I was having a lot of back pain. I went to the emergency room and a scan showed a lesion on my liver. A local gastroenterologist said it was nothing to worry about and said we'd check it in six months.
But I was thinking that may be wrong, and I always go by what my gut is telling me. I went to another doctor who said, "Let's just go and do an MRI." It turned out to be stage 4 colon cancer that had metastasized to my liver. I was diagnosed in early 2018.
My father had colon cancer and passed away in his early 50s. I probably should have had a colonoscopy, but I didn't believe it would happen like that to me. I was a healthy person and I'd always done checkups.
When the doctor said "metastasized," I remember thinking, "They're going to take this out, I'm going to take the medicine and everything's going to be fine." I never felt doomed.
I did a year's worth of chemotherapy and underwent surgery.
I was in remission for four years — so I thought. You feel like you've got it beat. But then I began having symptoms. I lost weight. When I would use the bathroom, I would feel like I had not finished. I had painful gas.
I was getting regular scans and told they were clear, but I had that feeling again and I just knew something was wrong. My oncologist said, "I can assure you, you do not have cancer, you are hypersensitive." And I said, "No, I believe it is back."
In March 2022, they called me back and said, "Upon further looking, you're right. There is a lesion in your rectum. It was farther down than the original cancer. That's why we didn't see it because we weren't looking for it there."
I felt let down, but I just gathered my troops — my two boys and my husband.
Sherri Rollins and family (Courtesy Sherri Rollins)
The tumor was larger than expected, and it had gone outside the colon and spread into the pelvic floor. I saw several doctors about what to do next. One wanted to take the whole colon out. Another said I'd have a colostomy bag my whole life.
I really liked a gastrointestinal surgeon at UNC Health, who told me the tumor could be removed and the ileostomy bag would be temporary. As part of the treatment, I also underwent intraoperative radiotherapy, which delivers radiation while you're on the operating table. The tumor is removed and then they hit the area with radiation to hopefully kill any cancer cells that were left behind. I also had more chemotherapy.
After three months, the ileostomy was reversed. It has been a little slower recovery this time than it was the first time, but I am a happy person by nature. It's only been a year, I'll get there. I'm getting out more and doing more.
Sherri Rollins (Courtesy Sherri Rollins)
I did things a step at a time. You work the problem — you go to the next thing and then the next because if you look at the big picture, it's so overwhelming. Just face one problem at a time — that's how I manage things. You can't look at it far out, a year or five years from now. You just have to face the next step.
Let's say there's a 5% chance that people make it out of this in a year. But somebody made it out because it's not a 0% chance. Somebody beat all the odds. Why not you? Why not me?
I had a lot of issues with my hands because of having had so much chemo in such a short amount of time. I have a lot of neuropathy, but you just keep pushing forward because what option do you have? I'm still here and that's what matters at the end of the day. I'd rather be here and face anything. I've got those two boys to give me all the hope in the world. They are my biggest cheerleaders.
Now that I've been affected by this disease and the fight to save myself, I am just so appreciative.
I hope that even if one person makes their case for more treatment options and it saves them, then that is why I am speaking out. Being your own advocate doesn't mean you are a disgruntled patient.
This interview was condensed and edited for clarity.
This article was originally published on TODAY.Com
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