A sense of relief for Walkerton residents.
The final report of the seven-year Walkerton Health Study into the health effects of the 2000 tainted water tragedy was released last night at a town hall meeting at Victoria Jubilee Hall.
Around 75 people came to see the Lead Investigator of the Study — Doctor Bill Clark — as well as several other doctors offer their conclusions.
Doctor Clark says he has found that the most common symptom from the ecoli contaminated water was Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
He says there was double of the amount of cases directly related to the incident.
Doctor Clark also noted that there were cases of high blood pressure and kidney disease from people who drank the contaminated water.
But he says every couple of years a majority of the people have gotten better while another 20 percent still have symptoms but are improving.
Doctor Clark says there is no “magic bullet” for IBS but those who have symptoms will get better over time.
He says those who have identified early on that they have high blood pressure or kidney disease usually find that the symptoms don’t progress.
Doctor Clark says they will upload all the data on to a computer database within an 18-month to 2-year period.
He says they will make the results available for doctors around the world that may run into similar situations or have other solutions.
Doctor Clark says the participants had to perform blood and urine tests and answer hundreds of questions.
But he says the investigators have had great participation in the study despite the adversity the residents had to face.
More on the Walkerton Health Study can be found at www.lhrionhealth.ca/feature/walkerton.pdf
