Report 5. Additional Testing for Opportunistic Pathogens During our recent sampling trip to Flint on August 17-19, we collected samples to analyze for the presence of Opportunistic Pathogens (OPs). We reported previously that we did not find evidence to indicate that the OPs Legionella pneumophila, which may cause Legionnaire’s Disease, or Mycobacterium avium, were present […]
Report 3. Opportunistic Pathogens: Legionella pneumophila and Mycobacterium avium. During our recent sampling trip to Flint, we found that all of our samples sites were free of fecal indicator bacteria but that many sites lacked a chlorine residual, which is a critical barrier for preventing regrowth of bacteria in pipes. Our research team has further […]
We have long known about the dangers associated with waterborne pathogens. Fecal contamination of drinking water sources can lead to gastrointestinal illness and deaths caused by a variety of waterborne pathogens. We control for these risks by 1) selecting clean water sources for treatment, 2) treating the water to remove particles and bacteria by filters, […]
(August 12th, 2016 to December 2nd, 2016) FACHEP: A “KEYSTONE COPs” TRAGICOMEDY In Part 4, we revealed how Dr. Nancy Love (UM) sampled some Flint point of use (POU) filters in late July 2016, thought she discovered Shigella, and then unleashed an irresponsible hypothesis that the disease was coming from Flint water via Dr. Laura […]
An investigative science reporting series by Flintwaterstudy.org A whistleblower’s journey requires navigating one gut-wrenching ethical dilemma after another. First, one must make every attempt to resolve problems within the system, before taking distasteful allegations public. Second, a whistleblower must also believe that true harm (e.g., public endangerment or a miscarriage of justice) could result from […]