An E.coli outbreak in the internal water system of one of the country's main psychiatric hospitals has forced the Health Service Executive to take urgent remedial action and replace the hospital's water treatment system.
Tests on the water supply at St Stephen's Hospital in Glanmire near Cork city last Friday confirmed the presence of E.coli in the water. HSE South immediately notified all units in the hospital. The hospital, which is set on 104 acres, is a former TB hospital. Currently it caters for 151 patients, many of them elderly. More than 300 people work there.
Some 16 private residences adjacent to the hospital receive their water from the hospital's supply.
The HSE hand-delivered notices to all the residents concerned advising them of the need to use bottled or boiled water for drinking, preparing food and teeth-brushing.
A HSE South spokeswoman said the water was supplied by Cork County Council to the hospital's internal supply system. Tests on the external council supply showed no evidence of E.coli contamination. The bacterium was confined to the hospital's internal tank and system, she said.
The HSE immediately set about replacing the 60,000-gallon water tank and adjacent treatment system and a new system has now been installed. Tests are continuing on the hospital's water system to see whether the bacterium is still present.
As a result, the hospital was maintaining its policy of using bottled water and boiled water where necessary. There had been no cases of illness linked to the E.coli find to date, the spokeswoman said.
"The HSE will do continuous testing of the water supply over the next fortnight," she added. "The boil water notice will therefore remain in place for the next two weeks and residents will be advised as soon as the all-clear can be given to lift the boil water notice."
The particular strain of E.coli found in St Stephen's Hospital system, E.coli O157:H7, can live in the intestines of healthy cattle and sheep and can be shed in their faeces, resulting in contamination of water sources.
An outbreak of the disease in Scotland in 1996 killed 17 people and affected more than 500.
In Ireland, the number of reported cases each year averages 50, the HSE South spokeswoman said.
Symptoms can include abdominal cramps and severe, bloody diarrhoea, although these are not always present. Usually there is little or no fever and patients recover within five to 10 days.
People with an impaired immune system, young babies and older people were most susceptible to E.coli infection, said the spokeswoman.
The HSE had issued detail directions to both hospital staff and residents affected by the outbreak.
Water must be boiled and allowed to cool for drinking. The same precautions must be taken for drinks made with water such as diluted orange, for the preparation of salads and other non-cooked foods, for brushing teeth and for gargling
She also said that water from the hot tap was not safe to drink.
Water can be used for personal hygiene, bathing and flushing of toilets, but caution should be taken when bathing children to ensure that they did swallow the bathing water, added the spokeswoman.
