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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: 2) by VLM on Monday November 22 2021, @03:21PM
Yeah I'd rather hear some bozo actress lecture me about politics, oh wait they already do that stuff. Well back to talking about brain surgery with my plumber.
Anyway if you want a serious answer the alkaline water thing got started after the BPA plastics stuff. Ironically BPA is more soluble in higher pH, but once BPA is banned... So the marketing push (true or false) is that acid to neutral water leaches out more "stuff" over months sitting on the hot shelf than alkaline water would in the same conditions. Equally pure water poured into two plastic bottles WOULD have come out more contaminated if alkaline back when BPA was legal, but now its supposedly flipped and acidic water (you know, carbonated soda...) supposedly comes out more contaminated after two years on the shelf or whatever.
Is any of it true? Well, its marketing, so ... The BPA solubility vs pH thing is indeed true, so its only been "safe" to market alkaline water since BPA was banned some years back...
I would be curious about food poisoning and contamination from "normal" sources (not whatever made all the article people sick). Most rots and infections and stuff tend to lower pH, think saurkraut fermentation. If you brew, pH always drops as yeast ferments. "everyone" supposedly uses density / specific gravity to determine when fermentation flatlines but I've heard of people graphing pH to determine when fermentation ends. Surely its cheaper and simpler to measure specific gravity than pH, but maybe pH works too... Anyway, yeah, if you could move your water's pH two points up or down, I superficially guess maybe fewer bacteria and stuff can live at a higher pH so it should be safer? Although not too many people get food poisoning from bottled water under any conditions anyway.