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Sligo County Council has confirmed that to date in 2007 there
has been no instances of cryptosporidium associated with water supplies in
County Sligo. While there were isolated and unconnected instances of the
cryptosporidiosis disease in the county this year, none were connected with the
water supply and there was no cause for public concern.
While Local Authorities around the country are vigilant to ensure drinking water
supplies are safe, Cryptosporidiosis can be also be caused by poor hygiene
practices or contact with untreated surface water. A Council spokesperson
explained ‘It is a problem for Local Authorities when incomplete or misleading
information is placed in the public domain, particularly in a sensitive area
such as public health. The facts are as follows:
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There is currently no boiling notices in place for any of
the public water supplies in County Sligo.
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Water supplied through all public water supplies and all
public group water schemes in County Sligo is safe to drink
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The three instances of cryptosporidiosis in Sligo in 2007
were not connected with the public water supply
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Sligo County Council and the Health Service Executive have a
rigorous testing programme for public water supplies to ensure they meet strict
EU standards. All drinking water supplies are monitored in accordance with the
EC (Drinking Water) Regulations 2007.
Dr Anthony Breslin, Consultant in Public Health with the
Health Service Executive stated that ‘the HSE works closely with the Local
Authority in monitoring water supplies and has no hesitation in recommending
boiling notices be issued by the Local Authority if there is a problem with the
supply.’
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