Water parasite outbreak: 57 cases found in Devon

It is believed a damaged air valve on private land was the cause of the outbreak

The number of confirmed cases of people affected by a water parasite outbreak in Devon has risen to 57, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says.

The agency said more cases were expected to continue to be confirmed over the coming days as samples were processed.

It is believed a damaged air valve on private land was the cause of the outbreak of the waterborne disease cryptosporidium, South West Water (SWW) said.

The owner of SWW, the Pennon Group, said it could pay out up to £3.5m in compensation to customers affected by the issue.

The government said 16,000 properties in Brixham had been issued boil water notices, and two people have been taken to hospital as a result of the outbreak.

The UKHSA said it could take between two and 10 days for people to become unwell after being exposed.

Sarah Bird, consultant in health protection for UKHSA South West said she wanted to "reassure the public" work was continuing to "control this outbreak".

She said: “South West Water have identified the likely source of the outbreak and are working hard to resolve the issue.

“As with any other sickness bug, it is really important to follow good infection prevention measures, such as handwashing with hot soapy water, as alcohol hand gel is not enough to kill cryptosporidium.

Bottled water was brought into Brixham as a result of the outbreak

"This will prevent further cases spreading from person to person through the community."

She added those with symptoms should stay home for 48 hours since the last episode of illness, and anyone with diarrhoea should not go swimming for 14 days after their last episode of illness.

Dr Lincoln Sargeant, Torbay Council’s director of public health, added: “For those areas still subject to the boil water notice, we continue to support local businesses to operate safely.

"It is important to emphasise that the outbreak has only affected a small area of Torbay and we remain open for business."

Laura Flowerdew, from SWW, said the company needed "a number of days of clean samples to show there's no cryptosporidium in the water" to be able to fully lift the boil notice.

'Lack of confidence'

Laura Jury is a Brixham resident who lives in the area without the boil water notice.

However, her theatre company, South Devon Players, is in the affected area, and said ticket sales were down as a result.

She said: "It's really affected us, our ticket sales are down by about 90% for our show coming up.

"There's a lack of confidence for things with local businesses."

On Tuesday, the Pennon Group announced its financial results, including dividends payable to shareholders.

In a video shared to Pennon Group's website, boss Susan Davy mentioned the outbreak and said staff were working "tirelessly around the clock".

She said: "Today everyone here is 100% focused on returning the safe water supply to the people and businesses in and around Brixham.

"We know this has caused significant disruption and distress to our customers. I am really sorry. Customers are right to be angry and have questions for us."

She went on to talk about the company's dividends.

She said: "This incident post-year-end highlights how important a role we have. So today I want to take you through the results and highlights of the last year underlining the sustained investment in our services and infrastructure."

Pennon has also asked regulators to be able to increase water bills by 33% over the next five years.

Conservative MP Anthony Mangnall, whose Totnes constituency covers Brixham, said it was "absolutely appalling" that Pennon announced dividends.

He said it was "tin-eared".

"At a time when confidence in South West Water is at an all-time low, they really should be thinking about making sure their consumers are on-side, rather than shareholders," he said.