‘Thousands’ of Brits set to receive £15 payment after urgent water warning – find out if your area is impacted
THOUSANDS of Brits are set to receive a £15 payout after they were forced to boil drinking water due to a parasitic outbreak.
People in South Devon are experiencing grim symptoms today after cryptosporidium was found in the water supply.
Locals infected are reported to have watery diarrhoea, stomach pains, nausea or vomiting, a mild fever, and loss of appetite.
Residents across Brixham, Boohay, Kingswear, Roseland and North East Paignton must boil their tap water, South West Water earlier announced.
Those in Alston and the Hillhead area of Brixham are also advised to boil their drinking water.
Now the water supplier has said those residents issued with a boil water notice will receive an automatic payout of £15 due to the interruption.
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A South West Water spokesperson said on social media that those on a priority service would be receiving bottled water to their address.
They said: "We are working with public health partners to urgently investigate the source.
"We apologise for the inconvenience caused and will continue to keep customers and businesses updated. Bottled water stations will be set up in the affected areas as soon as possible."
Locals commenting on X, formerly Twitter, were fuming in response to the announcement about the payout.
One said: "£15! Have you any idea what me and my family including hundreds, if not thousands of others have been through in the past two weeks!!! What do you think £15 is going to cover?"
Another said: "Pathetic £15.00 how about you cover our missed wages from being to ill to go to work."
Cryptosporidium is a parasite that can live in the intestines and faeces of infected humans and animals.
It can spread through swimming in or consuming contaminated water, but can also be passed on in food.
It is commonly known as 'Crypto' according to the CDC in the US.
Those who are issued with a boil water notice should boil their drinking water and then let the liquid cool before drinking it.
This should also be done before using it for other purposes, like cooking or brushing teeth.
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The UK Health Security Agency are investigating 22 cases of cryptosporidium in South Devon - with hundreds more feared ill.
A further 70 suspected incidents have been reported in Brixham as lorries were filmed bringing bottled water to the stricken fishing town.
SWW had previously said tests on drinking water quality returned clear results but on Wednesday were "investigating the source" of the contamination.
Resident Tanya Matthews, who lives in the Ocean View area, said every household on her street is displaying symptoms of the bug.
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She told : "I started having stomach cramps and explosive diarrhoea nine days ago and it has been the same every day since.
"I started to feel a little bit better yesterday then today [May 14] it hit me again."
Take steps to protect you and your family
By Lizzie Parry, Head of Health
ANYONE who's had a bout of norovirus will know how miserable a tummy bug can be.
In this case, the cause appears to be the Cryptosporidium parasite, a tiny organism that causes an illness known as cryptosporidiosis.
The bug can be found in the intestines and poo of infected humans and animals.
Anyone can fall sick but it's most common in kids aged between one and five.
Other people at high risk include people who work with animals, people exposed to human faeces (parents changing nappies), and people who swim in open water.
That's because you catch the bug from an infected person or animal by coming into contact with their faeces.
Other sources of infection include drinking or swimming in contaminated water, eating contaminated fresh food (unwashed or unpeeled veg or salads) and drinking contaminated raw milk.
Like norovirus, the symptoms can be really unpleasant, watery diarrhoea, stomach pains, nausea or vomiting, fever and a loss of appetite, which can lead to dehydration.
Symptoms tend to last for about two weeks but can ease off and reappear in that time.
The only way to know for sure if you've been infected - and to tell it from other tummy bugs - is to ask the doctor to test a stool sample.
Like other infectious bugs, there are things you can do to protect yourself and your family.
First and foremost, wash your hands thoroughly with warm soap and water before handling any food, after preparing raw food, after going to the loo or changing a baby's nappy and after playing with, or looking after any animals - including your pets.
And if you, or a member of your family, catches the bug make sure you wash all dirty bedding and towels, avoid sharing towels, clean all bathrooms and avoid preparing food for others until you've been symptom-free for at least 48 hours.
It goes without saying that if you have symptoms avoid going into work or taking your children to school until you've been symptom-free for 48 hours too.
There's no specific treatment, but most healthy people will recover within a month. The NHS notes it is important to drink lots of fluids to avoid dehydration.
If you are worried about your child, or you can't seem to shrug off the bug it's worth speaking to your GP - try filling out an online consultation form.