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From Sun News 12/13/03 article from Wire Reports.
Italy: Tainted water causes widespread illness.
Rome: Several people fell ill Friday across Italy after drinking apparently tainted bottled mineral water, the latest in a scare that has prompted prosecutors to launch investigations across the nation.
The case centers on a series of apparent sabotages in which bottles of mineral water have been injected with household bleach just below the cap.
Since the first reported case Nov. 19, reports of tainted water have multiplied, with concern spreading to other bottled ad canned drinks, including milk and fruit juice.
From WaterTech.OnLine 10/3/2003 article
Bottled mineral water linked to poisoning.
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND — Bottled mineral water may have poisoned thousands, new research has shown, according to The Scotsman.
Scientists found that it could account for 12 percent of infections by the bug campylobacter, the biggest cause of food-borne infection in the Western world. The bug normally causes stomach pains and diarrhea but can, in rare cases, trigger serious and potentially fatal illness, the paper reported.
Contaminated water supplies, milk or poultry are recognized risk factors for campylobacter, but the new research shows for the first time that bottled mineral water is also a potential hazard, the paper reported.
Bottled mineral water was found to account for 12 percent of the cases studied, the article said.
In Europe, the paper reported, legislation states that mineral water must be free from parasites and infectious organisms but, unlike tap water, it cannot be treated in any way that may alter its chemical composition.
A variety of organisms could be found in mineral water, said the researchers, and could survive for a considerable length of time, particularly in uncarbonated water supplied in plastic bottles or bottled by hand.
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