The recent E. coli outbreak that caused River Forks Park to shut down their beach has caused alarm for lake goers, but there are things to look for in the case the bacteria is present after a swim.
Dr. Alisa Davis, an internal medicine physician at Longstreet Clinic, said the bacteria is normally found in food, but when fecal matter ends up in water, the bacteria can live in one of its most deadly forms called E. coli 0157:H7.
This form of E. coli is the most common, Davis said. The danger of the strain is that it produces a toxin called a Shiga toxin, which children can be most susceptible to she said.
“What this toxin does, is it causes the red blood cells to rupture prematurely,” Davis said. “The product of the ruptured cells has to be filtered through the kidneys to leave the body, so basically the kidneys get clogged, they can’t function anymore and they fail.”
Once the kidneys fail, it is not much longer until the rest of the body begins to shut down, Davis said. The heart will fail and the lungs will fill with fluid, because at that point the kidneys can no longer filter waste out of the body, she said.
According to Davis, there are signs to look for in the case E. coli is present in the body. People will experience worsening stomach cramps, diarrhea and bleeding of the stool and urine. If symptoms persist for three days, seek medical attention immediately. Other symptoms that throw a red flag are dizziness and swelling of the arms, legs and face she said.
If symptoms occur, avoid taking antidiarrheal medications, Davis said. The best thing to do is to allow the body to serve as a self-flushing system, otherwise the bacteria will stay in the body longer, she said.
“If it is caught early enough, we can easily treat the problem with IV fluids and electrolyte replacement until the patient feels better,” Davis said.
But because children are the most common victims of the deadly bacteria, Davis said to keep a close eye on children while they take a plunge into Lanier.
“Try to keep your child from ingesting too much water in the lake,” Davis said. “Keep their heads above water and try to keep them from getting the water in their mouths.”
River Forks Park is not the first Lanier beach to detect high levels of E.coli, but it is the most current.
Brian Wiley, the environmental monitor coordinator with the city of Gainesville, said the city retested the waters at River Forks Park Monday morning around 8:30 am, but it is a 24-hour process before there will be results.
“We also look at things like temperature, dissolved oxygen levels and the pH of the water,” Wiley said. “but we also make note of observations such as animals, birds and people in the area.”
The only result Wiley could share was the dissolved oxygen level, which read at a high level; A low level is an indicator the quality of the water is poor, he said.
One note of the test site was that more than 30 geese were on the shorelines Monday morning, Wiley said. The geese could be the culprit of the high E. coli levels discovered last week.
According to Wiley, geese could be searching for a meal left behind on the beach, there could be a predator issue or they could simply be comfortable at that location.
“It could be a number of things, but humans could be the biggest problem,” he said.
River Forks Park will remain closed until the water is deemed safe for swimmers. The city will have test results on Tuesday afternoon.
