The No. 1 factor for acute gastrointestinal illness in Kewaunee County’s private drinking water wells is cow manure, according to a federal study released today. The findings raise questions about the effectiveness of existing regulations aimed at protecting residents from tainted drinking water.
The study predicts that cow manure causes 230 cases of acute gastrointestinal illnesses in the county per year, out of 301 total cases of sickness with an additional 12 cases caused by human waste from septic systems. The contaminant is unknown for the other instances, the authors wrote.
Symptoms of gastrointestinal illness can include nausea and vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal cramps, sometimes accompanied by fever. Children, the elderly and people with underlying health conditions can be more vulnerable to complications such as dehydration.
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The loss of the use of the COVID-19 vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson had a temporary effect on vaccination schedules this week for the public health departments in Kewaunee and Door counties.
Tuesday, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services instructed all vaccination providers in the state to stop using the one-dose J&J vaccine, at least temporarily, because reports of severe blood clots as a side effect in a limited number of patients nationwide six cases in more than 6.8 million shots are being investigated by the federal Centers for Disease Control and U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The Kewaunee County health department had openings Wednesday and Thursday, April 14 and 15, for appointments with its COVID-19 vaccine clinics for anyone ages 16 and older because it had more doses on hand than people on its waiting list and didn t want them to go to waste.
The percentage of tests for COVID-19 coming back as positive, a metric used by many health departments to measure how well a community is fighting the spread of the virus, again rose dramatically in Kewaunee County and remained at a high rate in Door County and the state of Wisconsin during the week from Jan. 5 to 11.
The number of positive tests in each county remained steady in that time, but the rate of positive tests in each county was about one-third of all results: 35.5% in Kewaunee, up from 21.9% for the week ending Jan. 5; and 33.2% in Door, comparable to the 33.7% weekly rate as of Jan. 5. The World Health Organization has said that a positivity rate of more than 5% is concerning because it means testing isn’t widespread enough to capture the spread of the virus among the general population. The counties positive percentage numbers mirror the statewide figure of 34.6%.