ALAMOSA, Colo.—Gov. Bill Ritter said Saturday he was impressed with local health officials’ response to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened dozens of people.
“They very much have the situation under control,” Ritter said. “We likely have not seen the last case of it because there is incubation period.”
As of Saturday, 183 cases of salmonella linked to the outbreak had been reported, city spokeswoman Connie Ricci said. Of those, 57 were confirmed by lab testing, and nine people were hospitalized, she said.
Ned Calonge, chief medical officer for the state health department, said Friday an epidemiological analysis indicated the municipal water system is the source of the rare outbreak.
The governor said officials continue to test to confirm the connection.
“They are fairly certain that the water system is the source—although not 100 percent,” he said.
It could be three weeks before residents can drink water straight from the tap.
Officials plan to begin flushing the water system Tuesday, and it could be days after that before the water is safe.
During the flush and disinfection of the water system, residents will not be able to cook or drink with tap water, even if it is boiled, partly because of high levels of chlorine, health officials warned. They can still use tap water to bathe during the flush, as long as no water is ingested.
Local officials are using reverse-911 call systems to contact residents and plan to leaflet every home and business in the town, Ritter said.
Alamosa, a southern Colorado town with about 8,500 residents, gets its water from a deep well system that is not chlorinated.
Ritter declared an emergency Friday in Alamosa County, which activates the Colorado National Guard and provides up to $300,000 for emergency response efforts.
He said the town has rallied to deal with the problems.
“It’s such a resilient community,” he said. “It’s not unlike Holly after the tornado struck. I have been heartened by how much the people are working together to resolve this issue and what a community spirit exists.”
