Contaminated Drinking Water May Increase Swine Flu Risk

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Contaminated drinking water may inhibit the immune system's ability to withstand swine flu, according to new research.

Specifically, mice exposed to arsenic at concentrations found in low concentrations in many wells had a "feeble" and delayed response to the influenza A (H1N1) virus that led ultimately to swollen, bloody lung damage and a heightened risk of serious illness.

So far, the illnesses and deaths from swine flu have been considered relatively minor, even though the fast spread of the virus around the world has alarmed public health officials. To date, the virus is known to have killed 72 people in Mexico and 6 in the United States.

The Environmental Protection Agency's safe drinking water standard for arsenic is 10 ppb (parts per billion) -- meaning water with 10 parts arsenic to 1 billion parts water is considered safe for regular consumption. The researchers fed water with 100 ppb -- 10 times the standard -- to mice for five weeks before infecting them with the virus. Drinking water with concentrations at or near 100 ppb is not uncommon, according to the study's authors, particularly in parts of the country with larger natural deposits of arsenic: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and Florida, as well as large parts of the Upper Midwest, the Southwest and the Rocky Mountain states.

If you pay a water bill, then you get water piped in from a private or municipal system. You can contact your system's administrator for a copy of an annual drinking water quality report to find out if your water has arsenic or any other regulated contaminant. Some reports are also available on the EPA Website. If you have a private well, then it's your responsibility to test your water for contamination; no one else will do it for you. Only New Jersey and a scattering of local governments require water testing of private wells, and usually only when a home is sold.

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