Health official urges residents to boil drinking water before use

Chief Environmental Health Officer Rupert Doyle is appealing to all persons using spring water as well as rain water to boil their supply before use.{{more}}

His advice comes in the wake of a trough system that caused serious flooding to the North Windward section of the country last week.

He is encouraging everyone to boil the water to eradicate micro organisms, which causes water borne diseases.

Doyle explained that an outbreak of water borne diseases can cause serious problems.

“The problem is persons will get sick, come down with gastroenteritis,” said Doyle.

He said his department has been distributing purification tablets to North Windward since last week, which provides an alternative to boiling in the event that consumers do not have the time or choose not to do so.

Doyle recommended that persons use three tablets to one gallon of water.

He said besides distributing the tablets, a member of his department assessed the environmental conditions in North Windward last week and had advised persons accordingly on subjects such as food storage and solid waste management.

Doyle used the opportunity to emphasize the importance of hygeine during this period.

He reminded persons to wash their hands before they eat and to change their clothes regularly. He also appealed that individuals clean and sanitize their environments as well as store their food and water in a safe manner.

Doyle warned that contagious diseases can easily spread in areas where there is overcrowding, hence the need for everyone to strive to be hygienic.(HN)