Rowers are being advised on the importance of covering cuts, grazes and blisters before getting near the Thames.
By Steph Spyro, Environment Editor and Senior Political Correspondent
14:42, Fri, Mar 29, 2024 | UPDATED: 14:43, Fri, Mar 29, 2024
Rowers training for major boat race on Thames this weekend (Image: Getty)
A teenage rower received an intravenous drip when her open blisters became infected by sewage water from the Thames, her aunt has said.
Professional violinist Lisa Rollin’s 16-year-old niece, who wishes to remain anonymous, went to A&E after she became unwell just days ago.
Lisa, who lives in leafy Surrey, has been aware of sewage issues in the Thames for years but described the illness of a family member as “the final nail in the coffin”.
Clean water campaigner Lisa Rollin has blasted Thames Water's plans to hike customer bills (Image: Lisa Rollin)
When asked how her niece is, she said: “I think it’s really shaken her up. Her veins started to go bright red on the back of her hands and started to spread up her arm.
“They got very alarmed and went straight to A&E where they put her on an IV drip. Then she had to go back again and do another day on it. She’s fine now but my poor sister was worried about sepsis because if you don’t catch it in time, that’s what you’re going to end up with - major organ failure and death.”
Lisa also blasted Thames Water’s proposals to raise bills by up to 40%.
She said “water is a fundamental of life” that shouldn’t have been mixed with business.
The performer added: “The water companies should always have been a national concern, not parcelled up and turned into a business. All those shareholders taking their enormous dividends is immoral, it’s completely and utterly immoral, and now you’ve got children paying the price.”
The infected blisters on the teenager's hands (Image: Lisa Rollin)
High levels of E.coli have been found along a stretch of the River Thames that will be used for the historic Oxbridge Boat Race on Saturday, researchers said.
The bacteria, which can cause serious infections, was discovered during regular testing by River Action and the Fulham Reach Boat Club between February 28 and March 26, using a World Health Organisation-verified E.coli analyser.
The 16 tests around Hammersmith Bridge in west London indicated an average of 2,869 E.coli colony forming units (CFU) per 100ml of water.
To meet the Environment Agency’s inland bathing water quality standards, the level should be below 1,000 CFU per 100ml.
River Action said the highest level it recorded was 9,801 CFU per 100ml, meaning it was nearly 10 times higher than levels found in bathing waters graded as “poor” by Environment Agency standards.
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