An outbreak of E-coli in the water supply at the Deep Cove
Outdoor Education Trust's school hostel has prompted the
trust to employ sanitation experts and introduce boil-water
notices.
Escherichia coli (E-coli) is a bacterium commonly found in
the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms. While most
strains are harmless, some can cause serious food poisoning
in humans.
A Southland school teacher told the Otago Daily Times
about concerns the hostel's lake-fed water supply had E-coli.
Deep Cove Outdoor Education Trust chairman Paul Gay said the
levels found in tests had been very low, and were unlikely to
harm humans. The contamination could have come from fecal
matter from possums and deer.
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