No Increase in Sick Patients at B.C. Hospitals After Boil Water Advisory

VANCOUVER (CP) – Medical facilities in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland have not experienced an increase in sick patients since a boil water advisory was issued for the region.

But Naseem Nuraney with Fraser Health, the authority which provides health care in suburban Vancouver, says if someone goes to hospital because they are sick, it’s hard to link the illness to contaminated water.

“It’s the time of year where it’s flu season and lots of other things that are going on so if somebody does go to the hospital sick, it’s very hard to tie it with contaminated water,” she said.

Symptoms from tainted water vary from person to person, Nuraney said. Problems can arise within a few hours to a few weeks.

The boil water advisory remained in effect Saturday in Vancouver, Burnaby and North and West Vancouver, affecting about 900,000 people.

The Seymour and Capilano reservoirs were swamped by big storms earlier this week.

Another storm was expected to hit the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island early Sunday.

It was predicted to be weaker than the one that hit on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he’s following the situation from the A-PEC summit in Vietnam and planned on speaking about it to B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell over the weekend.