UNDATED (WHTC-AM/FM) – Health concerns were noted by officials in both Allegan and Ottawa counties on this Labor Day weekend.
On Friday, the Ottawa County Department of Public Health confirmed the first human case of West Nile Virus for the year in the county. As is standard procedure when such announcements are made, no particulars of the case were disclosed, as officials cite federal HIPPA regulations as the reason for keeping such information classified, so the press release only described what the illness is, what symptoms to look for, and the dangers posed by the disease. On Saturday, the Allegan County Health Department issued a similar announcement for the first such West Nile Virus case in that county.
Also on Saturday, the Allegan County Health Department disclosed that 16 residential water wells in the Otsego area had “some levels of dioxins.” This came after 56 private wells were tested by the state Department of Health and Human Services and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality in July “for chemicals in waste from local paper mills that were applied to fields and roads in the area.”
Residents in the area had brought concerns about their well water safety to state and federal officials earlier this year in the wake of the PFAs contamination situation in Kent County. The 16 property owners affected – 14 in Allegan County and two in Kalamazoo County – “are in the process of being contacted by their respective local health departments (on Saturday),” according to a statement by the Allegan County Health Department. Additional testing for dioxin-like chemicals are scheduled.
More information on what to look for with the West Nile Virus can be found here; residents with questions stemming from the well water situation in the Otsego area can contact the Allegan County Health Department Hotline (269-686-4546) from 8 AM to 8 PM.