The Souris river is receding slowly. So far the number of gastrointestinal complaints is down. Everyone is worried about hepatitis A. Hepatitis is caused by a virus. A is just one type, there are others such as B and C. Hepatitis A is transmissible primarily by contact with contaminated water. However, there is no recent historical record of increased outbreaks of hepatitis A from floods. Tetanus should be good up to 10 years after vaccination and if you have a dirty wound at 5 years or more you may get a booster. The public health services are offering hepatitis A and tetanus vaccines. But the risk is low. Minot is on water rationing due to broken mains and the difficulty in isolating those breaks that are probably in the flood zone. It is going to take a while to find and fix those after the water is gone. We have plenty of bottled water. If you save tape water before the flood during the warnings, that water should be alright. There are water filtering pumps that can give you two liters of water and then put water purification tablets in or 6-10 drops of Clorox in will sanitize it for drinking. The portable water filtering pumps can be obtained at sporting good stores, like Sheels. I got one as it was required when couple years ago I flew up the Alcan to Alaska. Showering with tape water and rinsing out clothes should be alright. Just don't drink it, unless you sanitized with the tablets, filters, Clorox or boiled it. Keep waste water and use it for flushing the toilets. We can get through this.
Peace Skeptical DoDo
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