Nitrates in the water exceeded the norm by 36.5 times: an infant died in Kirovohrad region
The family used water from a shallow well
On Saturday, September 12, in the Pervozvanivska community of Kropyvnytskyi district an 8-month-old boy died. The child was diagnosed with water-nitrate methemoglobinemia, and medical personnel were unable to save him.
The Kirovohrad Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine reported the fatal case, citing the region’s chief state sanitary doctor Nadiya Operchuk.
During the epidemiological investigation, specialists found that the family used a non-centralized water supply source — a shallow well. Laboratory analysis of the water revealed 1827.8 mg/dm³ of nitrates, whereas the permissible level is no more than 50 mg/dm³. Thus, the limit was exceeded by 36.5 times.
Since the beginning of the year this is already the 6th case of water-nitrate methemoglobinemia in the Kirovohrad region. Previously the disease was recorded among children in Novoukrainka, Kropyvnytskyi and Holovanivsk districts. In June a 9-day-old girl in the town of Pomichna in Novoukrainka district died from this disease.
The regional center for disease control and prevention urged people not to give children water from private wells and boreholes and not to prepare formula with it unless its safety has been confirmed by a laboratory. For children, they recommend using tested water or specially bottled baby water of guaranteed quality.
Specialists emphasize that it is impossible to determine the presence of nitrates by taste, smell, or color: water that looks clean can still be dangerous. Boiling does not solve the problem and, due to evaporation, can increase the concentration of nitrates. Ordinary household pitcher filters are also not designed to remove them.
You should seek medical help immediately if a child’s skin, lips or the area around the mouth become bluish or grayish. Other dangerous signs include difficulty breathing, extreme lethargy, drowsiness, refusal to eat, and being unable to wake the child.
Previously we wrote:
- In Lymany near Mykolaiv, 10 air samples showed formaldehyde above the limit; wells contained coliforms
- Residents of Mykolaiv region are urged to disinfect water in wells
- Deviation found: drinking water from taps and distribution points tested in Mykolaiv region
- Fecal contamination: coliforms detected in Mykolaiv’s water supply network
