I guess I’m a numbers freak. When I heard about human waste
being deposited along the Skokomish River, my first reaction was to
wonder about fecal bacterial counts. What kind of numbers were
showing up in the water samples?
Then I realized that health officials were dealing with
something different from a typical septic failure or broken sewer
line. Numbers were not the issue. Health officials who observed
piles of human waste were compelled to close commercial shellfish
beds at the mouth of the Skokomish River or face the risk that
people would get sick from eating the shellfish.
As I described in a story in
today’s Kitsap Sun, some anglers along the Skokomish had been
wandering into the bushes to do their business instead of seeking
out a portable toilet. Contributing factors may have been too few
portable toilets, toilets in the wrong places and even toilets
filled to rim.
I had to remind myself that fecal coliform bacteria and
specifically Escherichia coli are “indicators” that waste
from warm-blooded animals may be nearby. The overriding concern is
not with those bacteria. Far more scary are the dangerous bacteria,
viruses and protozoa that could be present in human waste —
especially among people who are ill and those who are “carriers” of
disease organisms.
Water quality tests, which may or may not indicate the presence
of human feces, weren’t needed along Skokomish River, not when
state health officials found pile after pile of human waste —
including diarrhea. There were reports of people accidentally
stepping in the waste and then wading into the river.
The list of organisms in sewage that can cause disease is quite
long. I’ve always been concerned about people getting hepatitis
from shellfish, particularly when people eat them raw.
But Bob Woolrich of the state Office of Shellfish and Water
Protection told me that other viruses may be a greater concern
because they are more common and highly contagious. He mentioned
rotavirus, which infects one in 10 people every year.
Rotavirus is the leading cause of severe diarrhea in infants and
children. About 500,000 people die each year from rotavirus
infections, according to the World Health Organization
(PDF 296 kb). Most cases are in developing countries, but other
studies indicate that a few dozen U.S. residents die each year from
rotavirus. About 2.7 million children in this country come down
with severe gastroenteritis from the virus, including 60,000 who
become hospitalized. It also causes severe problems for elderly
people and those battling other illnesses.
Rotavirus is passed by fecal-oral transmission. The feces of an
infected person can contain 10 trillion infectious particles per
gram, yet as few as 10 particles may be able to infect the next
person. The virus is stable and has been found in estuaries, where
viral particles can be concentrated by shellfish.
I could talk about other organisms found in human waste, but I
think you get the point. You never want to eat food contaminated
with animal waste, but the risks are greater when we’re talking
about human waste.
Washington’s shellfish industry has earned a reputation for
providing safe shellfish to the nation. State and county health
departments play critical roles in maintaining that reputation.
Continual water testing provides early warnings of disease risk.
And when an illness does occur, the system allows the source to be
identified and dealt with quickly.
Given the overall success at preventing waterborne disease in
this state, it must be shocking for health officials to discover
third-world conditions in a relatively remote area along the
Skokomish River.
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