2023-08-06 15:29:37
At least 57 people suffered from diarrhea and vomiting following swimming at the World Triathlon Championships stage in Sunderland (UK) last weekend, according to health authorities.
The British health security agency (UKHSA) said this weekend that it was investigating to determine the causes of these symptoms, would send a questionnaire and request samples from those affected.
Analyzes carried out by the Environment Agency at Roker beach – where the water quality is usually very good – three days before the competition revealed the presence of Escherichia coli bacteria 39 times higher than the usual rate.
“I’ve been feeling pretty bad since the race, but I guess that’s what happens when you’re swimming in shit,” Australian triathlete Jake Birthwistle said on Instagram, in a post accompanying the water tests. The event should have been “cancelled”, he said.
The competition was held in an area of the coastline at the center of a controversy over sewage discharges from water companies, a scourge in the UK.
Local operator Northumbrian Water assured The Observer, the Sunday edition of The Guardian daily, that the discharges do not affect this beach, as they are “intercepted” and discharged via an outfall out to sea.
British Triathlon, the British body for the discipline, also affirmed that the results of the analyzes carried out before the competition were within the standards, and on the other hand that those of the Environment Agency were only published. following the competition and did not relate to the area behind the pier where the event took place.
Environment Agency officials told The Observer that the results of the swabs taken on July 26 were not released until the 31st because they required laboratory analysis.
A spokesperson for the agency pointed out that “temporary drops in water quality can be caused by several factors, including heavy rains.”
In Paris, a swimming test event in the Seine scheduled for this weekend was canceled due to pollution attributed to recent heavy rainfall. The French authorities ensure that they remain confident in view of the 2024 Olympic Games.
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