OGDEN -- The Weber-Morgan Health Department said today that E-coli bacteria has been found in the water of the Ogden Valley summer camp where 11 girls got sick.
Department spokeswoman Lori Buttars said "we received the confirmations of our tests today, and we found E-coli bacteria in the kitchen water and spigots at Camp Shawnee and Camp Ben Lomond, so we are in the process of working with them to fix that situation, and in the meantime people who go there will need to bring in their own water and use it for everything."
Camp Shawnee and Camp Ben Lomond are girls and boys camps respectively. They are located near Eden and share a common water system. The camps are owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The girls got sick after spending Aug. 2 to 5 at Camp Shawnee. They were part of a group of 45. The girls complained of severe abdominal pain, diarrhea and nausea.
Many were taken to hospitals and at least one, Emily Buck, the daughter of Jenny Pratt, had to be hospitalized for two days. Several parents said they have been told their children have E-Coli, but this is the first confirmation of E-Coli by the Weber-Morgan Health Department from tests done by the state.
All of the patients are recovering. Buttars said she is still waiting for results of testing on blood and stool sample sfrom the patients to identify which specific strain of E-coli this is.
In the meantime she said the camps are working with the department to clean up their water systems.
"We have 11 sick people and we will be contacting others that have been up there to tell them that they could have been exposed to this and watch for abdominal pain, nausea, cramping, diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, and it can be passed from person to person so they need to be extra careful to wash their hands, especially before they handle food preparation.
"People with E-coli can be infectioous for two weeks and that's even one week after the diarrhea stops, so it's very important that the entire household take handwashing measures."
She said anyone who thinks they were made sick by water at the came should tell their personal doctor about this diagnosis "because it should not be treated with antibiotics. Those could make it worse. There are other things to treat it with."
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