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Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
At least 25 people in two states were likely poisoned by toxic batches of the "Re2al ," including five children who suffered acute liver failure and one person who died.
The toxic water made headlines earlier this year when health investigators initially linked alkalized water sold by Nevada-based water company Real Water to severe illnesses in five children in Clark County, Nevada. But the new report from the CDC offers the most complete look at the identified cases and illnesses.
The saga began in November and December of 2020, when the five children—ranging in age from seven months to five years—became severely ill with acute liver failure after drinking the water. They were hospitalized and later transferred to a children's hospital for a potential liver transplant—though they all subsequently recovered without a transplant. Local health officials investigating the unusual cluster found that family members had also been sickened. The only common link between the cases was the alkalized water, which Real Water claimed was a healthier alternative to tap water.
In mid-March, the Food and Drug Administration contacted Real Water about the cases and urged the company to recall their water, which was sold in multiple states, including Nevada, California, Utah, and Arizona. Real Water agreed to issue the recall. However, by the end of the month, the FDA reported that retailers were still selling the potentially dangerous water, and the regulator tried to warn consumers directly. By then, Nevada health officials had linked the water to six additional cases, including three more children, bringing the total to 11.
Now, according to the new report, the tally has increased to 25: 18 probable cases and four suspected cases in Nevada, as well as three probable cases in California.
All 21 probable cases ended up hospitalized, and 18 required intensive care. One woman in her 60s with underlying medical conditions died of complications from her liver inflammation.
(Score: 5, Informative) by deimtee on Sunday November 21 2021, @04:58PM (3 children)
Last time this came up I found a picture of the label that included the ingredients list. There was nothing on it that would damage the liver, even if they had mistakenly added 10 times what it said on the label. There had to be contaminants in it.
No problem is insoluble, but at Ksp = 2.943×10−25 Mercury Sulphide comes close.
(Score: 2, Informative) by pTamok on Sunday November 21 2021, @06:33PM
The contaminants could be disease causing organisms.
While the initial reports said 'non-viral' hepatitis [fda.gov], there's plenty of other waterborne diseases that can cause hepatitis before you start looking at chemical toxins - look at the list under 'Bacterial hepatitis' 'and 'Parasitic hepatitis'' at this Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hepatitis#Infectious. [wikipedia.org]
Also, the product can be contaminated with chemicals that are not labelled on the ingredients - just like the Mexican originated hand-sanitizer contaminated with methanol [fda.gov].
(Score: 2, Interesting) by PinkyGigglebrain on Sunday November 21 2021, @07:52PM
Some times too much of a good thing can be deadly too. There are recorded cases of people being killed from drinking too much pure water at once, the water thinned out the electrolytes in their blood and caused cells to burst when they tried to absorb enough H2O to balance. Like putting too much air in a balloon.
That said I'm with you on it being a contaminate of some kind, it explains the small number of cases relative to the number of bottles in the production run.
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 4, Insightful) by drussell on Sunday November 21 2021, @08:48PM
Indeed... The problem was not the fact that the water was alkaline due to added potassium bicarbonate, it is that the water was contaminated with something that caused hepatitis.