Public health officials mum on details



By ERIC MULLENS

ALAMOSA — The Alamosa County Nursing Service late Friday announced that a death has been associated with the recent salmonella outbreak in Alamosa. Alamosa County Nursing Service Director Julie Geiser confirmed that an individual had died but to protect confidentiality under federal health care privacy laws, the press release did not provide any details about the victim.

Mark Salley of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, reached at his home Friday evening said the same thing, “we’re not able to disclose even the sex or age of the victim,” he said.

The press release was sent to state health officials and media outlets at about 4:45 p.m. Friday.

Alamosa Mayor Farris Bervig reached by telephone Friday evening, said he had been away from his office and had not heard the news regarding the salmonella death. “Whoever in the world this is, young or old, we feel very sorry for the victim and their family”, said Bervig. “Hopefully we will know more information about this in the next few days,” he said.

The laboratory at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has confirmed that the deceased had salmonella that was of the same strain as was identified in the city of Alamosa’s water supply. “It is not yet known how the deceased contracted the salmonella,” Geiser said.

Hundreds of community members were sickened by the disease and those with other preexisting medical conditions are particularly susceptible to severe illness from salmonella Geiser said in the county health department’s press release.

“While the number of reported salmonella cases dramatically decreased after the water system was disinfected, a couple of weeks after the system was flushed we continued to receive report of perhaps 0-to-3 people a day with symptoms that could be salmonella,” said Dr. Bill Brinton, epidemiologist for the San Luis Valley region.

Geiser said the local health department urges residents to continue precautions they advised during the outbreak:



• washing hands thoroughly and often



• those with salmonella symptoms should not prepare food for others



• disinfect cutting boards, knives and other utensils in the kitchen



• restaurant and health care workers with symptoms should not return to work until 24-hours after symptoms have ended; and babies and young children with symptoms should not be taken to day care centers or attend school until at least 24-hours after the last symptoms have ended.



“If we all continue to follow these suggestions, there will be few and fewer cases, the public health message continues to be that hand washing will make a difference in preventing the spread of disease,” Geiser said.

One week ago today (Friday) when the all-clean was announced by heath officials, there had been 389 total cases of salmonella reported; 107 of those culture-confirmed and 16 individuals hospitalized.

The median age of the Alamosa salmonella victims was 11-years with the range of ages from 3-weeks to 87-years according to state and local health officials during the final phase of the water emergency.