trouble in Guiyang

So apparently there's been an outbreak of Hepatitis A in Guiyang caused by pollution at a mineral water producer's water source. The Ministry of Health has responded by demanding checks on all the country's mineral water producers. Here's the report by Wei Mingyan in 新京报/The Beijing News:

卫生部急令开查桶装水

Ministry of Health orders urgent inspection of barrelled water

贵阳矿泉水污染致299人染甲肝

299 people in Guiyang infected with hepatitis A from polluted mineral water

 

因贵阳产“竹源”牌矿泉水受污染导致当地暴发甲肝疫情，卫生部昨天发出紧急通知，要求各地立即开展桶装饮用水监督检查，并要求各地食品生产经营单位立即停售停用贵阳南明竹源天然矿泉饮料有限公司生产的“竹源牌”桶装水及相关产品。

 

Because "Zhuyuan" brand mineral water produced in Guiyang was polluted, causing a local epidemic of Hepatits A to break out, the Ministry of Health yesterday issued an emergency notice requiring all regions to immediately begin supervision and inspection of barreled drinking water, and requires the food production management units of all regions to immediately stop the sale and use of "Zhuyuan" brand barrels of water and related products of Guiyang Nanming Natural Mineral Drink Company Limited.

"Barreled", I know, it's ugly, but I believe the article is referring to the large barrels you stick in the top of drinking water machines, not just all bottled water. I could be wrong.

 

经调查，“竹源”牌产品的水源在今年2月下旬至3月上旬受到严重污染，该厂在生产过程当中消毒不严，桶装水达不到 卫生标准，从而造成今年3月以来的贵阳市多个单位暴发甲肝疫情。据《贵州都市报》报道，截至4月17日，贵阳全市（含贵阳学院）共报告甲肝病人336例， 确诊299例，疑似37例。

 

From investigations, the water source for "Zhuyuan"-brand products was seriously polluted from the end of February to early March this year, the factory's sterilisation during production was not strict, and the barrels of water did not meet hygiene standards, thereby causing an epidemic of Hepatitis A to break out in many units of Guiyang from March this year. According to a report in "Guizhou Metropolis Daily", up until April 17, in all of Guiyang City (including Guiyang University), a total of 336 cases of Hepatitis A had been reported, of which 299 had been confirmed and 37 were suspected.

 

北京市海淀区卫生监督部门相关工作人员表示，由于是周末，目前基层卫生监督人员尚未接到该紧急通知。根据卫生和质 检两部门的分工，卫生监督部门主要检查成品水的卫生安全，根据卫生部的抽检计划，每年大概两次抽检出厂及市场流通环节的桶装水。目前北京市场尚未接到疑与 桶装水有关的公共卫生事件报告。

 

Relevant personnel of the Beijing City, Haidian District hygiene supervision authorities stated that because it was the weekend, grassroots-level hygiene supervision personnel and still not received the emergency notice. Based on the separate work of the hygiene and quality inspection departments, the hygiene supervision department mainly checks the hygiene safety of finished water products, and according to the Ministry of Health's spot check plan, every year spot checks on barrels of water leaving the factory gate and circulating on the market are carried out roughly twice a year. To date, the Beijing market has yet to receive any reports of public health incidents suspected of being related to barrels of water.

And that last sentence is really ugly, but I'll leave it as it is.

This article is followed up with a short one dated April 18 and based on reports from Guizhou Daily about that outbreak of Hep A, but I won't bother translating it, I think that first one tells us enough.

So beware the barrels of water. Don't buy or drink anything branded "Zhuyuan".

lzh and I just boil tapwater. Fortunately, it's relatively clean in this corner of town, and considering the amount of fake and substandard bottled and barreled water out there, it's probably safer.