Deadly Parasite Found In B.C. Water

A parasite that two years ago killed 100 people and made 400,000 sick in Milwaukee has been found in the drinking water in British Columbia’s Greater Vancouver region.

Five water samples taken from the region’s water supply last year contained the cryptosporidium parasite, according to the 1994 annual report on water quality.

The parasite can cause an untreatable illness which may become lifethreatening for people with compromised immune systems stemming from AIDS or cancer.

But the report says health officials don’t know whether the low levels of cryptosporidia pose a health risk.

Dr. John Blatherwick, Vancouver’s chief medical health officer, described the outbreak in Milwaukee as an aberration.

He said a similar result hasn’t been repeated anywhere else and hopes the Greater Vancouver regional district can participate in a large U.S. study into cryptosporidia.

The report says cryptosporidia is resistant to the effects of chlorine.

The parasite gets into the water supply from contaminated fecal matter deposited by animals such as domesticated cattle.