Illness Wave After Swimming in Almkanal: Dozens of Children and Adults Suffering from Diarrhea

The next day, nausea and vomiting began with the younger son and then the older one, before it also caught the adults. The family thus counts among those affected by the current wave spreading along the canal.

Manure from adjacent fields as the likely cause

The trigger was likely a storm in the past week that washed manure from nearby fields directly into the water. The affected section of the Almkanal, which extends from Flachgau's Grödig to the city of Salzburg, has since become a danger zone for many swimmers.

The Alm cooperative, which owns the waterway, emphasizes that use of the usually clear water in midsummer is entirely at one's own risk and that bathing is only tolerated. The Almkanal is not an officially approved or monitored bathing area.

Personal responsibility instead of official supervision

Along the idyllic course, where small hydropower plants are also located, there are additional hazards such as occasionally strong currents, ice-cold water from the Northern Limestone Alps, as well as scrap and shards at the bottom.

The authorities are monitoring the developments. According to the ORF Salzburg report, it must be assumed that such incidents are not occurring for the first time. In conversation with the broadcaster, it was said that "alle paar Jahre passiere so etwas" after heavy rainfall events in the catchment area of the stream.

Reactions and assessment

Alm master Lukas Peter pointed out, according to the report, that the cooperative relies on the personal responsibility of swimmers. There is no routine water sampling schedule nor any closure after storms, according to the broadcaster's account.

Medically, the reported symptoms are typical signs of a gastrointestinal infection, as can be triggered by fecal contamination in the water. In cases of persistent diarrhea and vomiting, doctors generally recommend adequate fluid intake and medical clarification, particularly for children.

Tips for swimmers after storms

For the affected families, such as Pogacnik's, the illness is doubly burdensome: it occurred after a joint swimming outing and hit the children first, then the adults. The broadcaster sees the case as an example of the risks of an undesignated bathing water.

The city of Salzburg and the Alm cooperative make clear that the Almkanal has no official bathing supervision. Swimmers there move in an area that is neither tested for water quality nor monitored by rescue services.

Overall, those responsible advise refraining from swimming in the Almkanal after heavy rainfall or when visible contamination is present, and to switch to officially designated bathing areas.