Not on tap: ‘Raw water’ could transmit potentially deadly pathogens: experts warn
TORONTO — Drinking “raw water” collected from springs and other so-called pure sources appears to be a growing natural health craze in the U.S. — and one in the era of social media that could quickly find its way to Canada.
But public health experts advise Canadians against embracing the raw water fad, saying untreated water can carry a host of micro-organisms that may cause severe illness and even death.
“There’s a long human history of consuming raw water over millennia and centuries and that has resulted in numerous documented outbreaks of serious infectious diseases and fatalities,” Dr. Ray Copes, chief of environmental and occupational health at Public Health Ontario, said Friday.
“And I’m puzzled as to why, given the benefit we have of adequate disinfection and safe water today, that people would want to go back to consuming water that hasn’t been treated and may be a source of serious infection.”