HEALTH authorities say their investigation and monitoring of the Blue Hole attraction in St Ann for leptospirosis are not yet conclusive as they are awaiting information from official sources in the United States regarding reports of visitors having contracted the disease here.

“Following on inspections at the Blue Hole attraction, the St Ann Health Department is reporting that not enough evidence exists to conclude that the location in question was the source of leptospirosis in the cases reported. There is limited information available on the publicised cases and the Ministry of Health is awaiting communication from official sources in the USA regarding any citizen who may have contracted the disease in Jamaica,” the ministry said on Friday.

The ministry said it is concerned about any possible risk to the public and has therefore conducted follow-up visits to the locations.

“During the initial visit, the public health inspectors reviewed the services offered, food service operations, sanitation and sewage disposal and other aspects of the operations. Breaches of public health standards were identified at some facilities and the St Ann Health Department had issued instructions to the management of the attractions to remedy these. A follow-up visit was conducted in late July, which indicated that several of the breaches were remedied while others were still in progress.”

According to the St Ann Health Department, prior to receiving the complaints, it had been monitoring the water quality on a monthly basis from the mouth of the river to its exit to the coast.

“Samples were also collected recently from different points in the vicinity of the Blue Hole attraction, which tested negative for the bacteria that causes the disease,” the department said.

Leptospirosis is an infectious disease which is transmitted through the urine of infected animals that enter the water or soil and survive for months. It is transmitted by rodents, dogs, farm animals and horses. When contracted by humans through contact with water, food or soil containing the urine of the infected animals, the disease causes a wide range of symptoms, although some people may have no symptoms at all.

According to a news story posted on San Antonio’s ABC-affiliated television station Ksat12.com, some visitors to the St Ann attraction in February returned to the US with flu-like symptoms allegedly caused by leptospirosis. One woman, Shawna Simmons, according to the station, came to the island for her husband Teddy’s 50th birthday celebration and visited the Blue Hole in Ocho Rios on their third day. According to Simmons, when they returned home, six persons, including her husband, were sick.

Simmons said after coming across the story of another San Antonio man who had previously visited the Blue Hole and fell ill and died reportedly of leptospirosis, she showed the story to the doctors who began treating her husband and the other individuals for leptospirosis. Reportedly, all six recovered.

Meanwhile, the St Ann Health Department says it will continue to maintain a presence at the Blue Hole attraction and along the White River course, and routine checks will be carried out at the various locations to ensure the health and safety of the public.