Would you use water if you believed it could make you sick? Residents in Flint, Michigan, have collectively answered no to that question and now they're getting sick as a result.
Flint was mired in controversy back in 2015, when it was revealed that the city's water supply contained increased levels of lead. Now, in 2016, government officials have cleared the water for use when using a water filter, but the memory of the contaminated water remains fresh in the locals' minds and are forgoing basic hygiene, such as washing their hands or bathing with water.
"People aren't bathing because they're scared," Jim Henry, Genesee County's environmental health supervisor, told CNN. "Some people have mentioned that they're not going to expose their children to the water again."
A New Threat
In theory, this would make them safe. However, in exchange for reducing the risk of lead poisoning, they have opened themselves up to a far greater threat: Shigellosis, an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Shigella.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms of Shigellosis include bloody diarrhea, malaise, abdominal pain and tenesmus - constantly feeling the need to empty one’s bowels, even when their colon is empty.
To be clear, this is actually a common disease: the CDC reports there are 500,000 reported cases every year. The problem, however, is that it's "very contagious" and resistant to many "first-line drugs," the most common antibiotics. And true to its description, the disease is wreaking havoc in Genesee County, home to Flint, where these incidents have more than tripled in the past calendar year.
In fact, compared to the typical 20 cases Flint sees per year, the city is now seeing 53 cases.
So what can the locals in Flint do to avoid Shigellosis? Wash their hands. However, that's exactly what they aren't doing out fear of lead poisoning.
"It's very easy to transmit person to person, or through food. If people aren't washing their hands, it runs through the whole county," Henry added.
Of course, residents have to observe some level of hygiene, and some report using baby wipes as a replacement for water in some of those instances.
Unfortunately, that's not quite enough.
"Baby wipes are not effective, they're not chlorinated, it doesn't kill the bacteria and it doesn't replace handwashing," Henry said. "People have changed their behavior regarding personal hygiene. They're scared."
What's Next For Flint
Needless to say, this entire situation has left Flint in an unprecedented position.
As stated before, residents know tap water is safe to use so long as the appropriate filters are used. The problem, however, is that they don't care.
For example, 35-year-old mother of four Bobbie Nicks, who was interviewed by the Detroit Free Press in July, noted that her family has the appropriate protection in place, but still use bottled water to drink, cook and brush their teeth. Interestingly, she lets her children swim because she didn't want to steal their childhood.
"We have to find a good balance of letting kids be kids and not dealing with what we have to deal with as parents - of being scared of the water," she told the paper.
And it's statements like those that leave the Genesee County Health Department with the unenviable task of trying to convince locals to wash their hands properly - an effort that has gone largely unsuccessful since it started in May 2016.
