{"id":11864,"date":"2024-09-30T15:35:36","date_gmt":"2024-09-30T19:35:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/?page_id=11864"},"modified":"2024-10-01T14:26:10","modified_gmt":"2024-10-01T18:26:10","slug":"virginia-department-of-health-advises-virginians-to-avoid-natural-water-bodies-after-tropical-cyclone-helene","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2024-news-releases\/virginia-department-of-health-advises-virginians-to-avoid-natural-water-bodies-after-tropical-cyclone-helene\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia Department of Health Advises Virginians to Avoid Natural Water Bodies After Tropical Cyclone Helene"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE \u2013 September 30, 2024<br \/>\n<strong>Media Contact:<\/strong> Brookie Crawford, VDH, <a href=\"mailto:brookie.crawford@vdh.virginia.gov\">brookie.crawford@vdh.virginia.gov<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Virginia Department of Health Advises Virginians to Avoid Natural Water Bodies After Tropical Cyclone Helene<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>RICHMOND, Va. \u2013 The Virginia Department of Health advises the public to avoid natural water bodies across the commonwealth after Tropical Cyclone Helene. During heavy rainfall and flooding, pollution and debris from the land washes into rivers, lakes and streams and eventually winds up in our coastal waterways. Pet, livestock and wildlife wastes, and untreated wastewater from sewage treatment plants that are overloaded by an excess of rainwater can all end up in natural waters used for recreation and pose risks to human health.<\/p>\n<p>To stay safe all Virginians should:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Avoid contact swimming in natural waterways for three days following rain events. Heavy rain picks up anything it comes in contact with, including germs from overflowing sewage, polluted storm water, and runoff from land.<\/li>\n<li>Never swallow untreated water and don\u2019t swim if your skin has cuts or open wounds.<\/li>\n<li>Wash hands frequently, including after swimming and before preparing and eating food.<\/li>\n<li>Shower or bathe after swimming to wash off possible germs and contaminants.<\/li>\n<li>Check the water and the area around it before swimming. Avoid going in water if there is a green film on the water or if the water is cloudier than usual. Avoid swimming near storm drains or livestock.<\/li>\n<li>Avoid swimming if you are vomiting or have diarrhea.<\/li>\n<li>Avoid any area where there is water with a foul or chemical odor, dead or dying fish, or discolored water.<\/li>\n<li>If taking fish caught from natural waters, remove the skin from filets and dispose of viscera and internal organs. Cook filets to proper temperature and clean knives and cutting boards with soapy water. Follow posted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/public-health-toxicology\/fish-consumption-advisory\/\">fish consumption advisories<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Check with your healthcare provider before swimming in oceans, lakes, rivers, and other natural bodies of water if your body\u2019s ability to fight germs is already affected by other health problems or medicines.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For additional questions, contact VDH\u2019s Call Center at 877-829-4682 (Option 2), The VDH Call Center is available Monday\u2013Friday (except holidays) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.\u00a0 For more information on recreational water safety, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.swimhealthyva.com\">www.SwimHealthyVA.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">\u00a0#\u00a0 #\u00a0 #<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>PARA PUBLICACI\u00d3N INMEDIATA \u2013 30 de septiembre de 2024<br \/>\nPersona de contacto con los medios de comunicaci\u00f3n: Brookie Crawford, <a href=\"mailto:brookie.crawford@vdh.virginia.gov\">brookie.crawford@vdh.virginia.gov<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>El Departamento de Salud de Virginia aconseja a los habitantes de Virginia que eviten los cuerpos de agua naturales tras el cicl\u00f3n tropical Helene.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>RICHMOND, Virginia<\/strong> \u2013 El Departamento de Salud de Virginia aconseja al p\u00fablico que evite los cuerpos de agua naturales en todo el estado despu\u00e9s del cicl\u00f3n tropical Helene. Durante las lluvias torrenciales y las inundaciones, la contaminaci\u00f3n y los desechos llegan a los r\u00edos, lagos y arroyos y acaban desembocando en nuestras aguas costeras. Los desechos de animales dom\u00e9sticos, ganado y fauna silvestre, as\u00ed como las aguas residuales sin tratar procedentes de depuradoras sobrecargadas por el exceso de agua de lluvia, pueden acabar en cuerpos de agua naturales donde se practican actividades de recreo y suponer un riesgo para la salud de las personas.<\/p>\n<p>Para evitar riesgos para la salud al entrar en contacto con cualquier cuerpo de agua natural (r\u00edos, lagos, arroyos) en Virginia, se recomienda:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Evitar el ba\u00f1o en cuerpos de aguas naturales tres d\u00edas despu\u00e9s de que haya llovido. Las lluvias torrenciales arrastran todo a su paso, incluidos los g\u00e9rmenes de las aguas residuales desbordadas, las aguas pluviales contaminadas y la basura de la tierra.<\/li>\n<li>No tragar nunca agua no tratada y no ba\u00f1arse si se tienen cortes o heridas abiertas en la piel.<\/li>\n<li>Lavarse las manos con frecuencia, incluso despu\u00e9s de nadar y antes de preparar y comer alimentos.<\/li>\n<li>Ducharse o ba\u00f1arse despu\u00e9s de nadar para eliminar posibles g\u00e9rmenes y productos contaminantes.<\/li>\n<li>Antes de ba\u00f1arse, revise el agua y la zona alrededor de la misma. Evitar entrar en el agua si observa una capa verde o si el agua est\u00e1 m\u00e1s turbia de lo habitual. Evitar ba\u00f1arse cerca de los desag\u00fces pluviales (tuber\u00edas que drenan el agua contaminada de las calles) y de las zonas donde hay ganado.<\/li>\n<li>Evitar entrar en el agua si tiene v\u00f3mitos o diarrea.<\/li>\n<li>Evitar cualquier zona donde haya agua con olor f\u00e9tido o qu\u00edmico, peces muertos o moribundos, o agua descolorida.<\/li>\n<li>Si consume pescado procedente de aguas naturales, retire la piel de los filetes y deseche las v\u00edsceras y los \u00f3rganos internos. Cocine los filetes a una temperatura adecuada y limpie los cuchillos y las tablas de cortar con agua y jab\u00f3n. Siga las <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/public-health-toxicology\/fish-consumption-advisory\/\">recomendaciones sobre el consumo de pescado<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Consultar a su m\u00e9dico antes de ba\u00f1arse en oc\u00e9anos, lagos, r\u00edos y otros cuerpos de agua naturales si la capacidad de su organismo para luchar contra los g\u00e9rmenes ya est\u00e1 afectada por otros problemas de salud o por el uso medicamentos.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Si tiene alguna pregunta adicional, p\u00f3ngase en contacto con el centro de atenci\u00f3n telef\u00f3nica de VDH llamando al 877-829-4682 (opci\u00f3n 2), disponible de lunes a viernes (excepto festivos) de 8 de la ma\u00f1ana a 5 de la tarde.\u00a0 Para m\u00e1s informaci\u00f3n sobre la seguridad en las aguas de recreo, visite <a href=\"http:\/\/www.swimhealthyva.com\">www.SwimHealthyVA.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">#\u00a0 #\u00a0 #<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE \u2013 September 30, 2024 Media Contact: Brookie Crawford, VDH, brookie.crawford@vdh.virginia.gov Virginia Department of Health Advises Virginians to Avoid Natural Water Bodies After Tropical Cyclone Helene RICHMOND, Va. \u2013 The Virginia Department of Health advises the public to avoid natural water bodies across the commonwealth after Tropical Cyclone Helene. During heavy rainfall and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":444,"featured_media":0,"parent":10685,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[719,720,327,654],"class_list":["post-11864","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","tag-natural-waters","tag-post-storm","tag-swimming","tag-tropical-storm"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Virginia Department of Health Advises Virginians to Avoid Natural Water Bodies After Tropical Cyclone Helene - Newsroom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2024-news-releases\/virginia-department-of-health-advises-virginians-to-avoid-natural-water-bodies-after-tropical-cyclone-helene\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Virginia Department of Health Advises Virginians to Avoid Natural Water Bodies After Tropical Cyclone Helene - Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE \u2013 September 30, 2024 Media Contact: Brookie Crawford, VDH, brookie.crawford@vdh.virginia.gov Virginia Department of Health Advises Virginians to Avoid Natural Water Bodies After Tropical Cyclone Helene RICHMOND, Va. \u2013 The Virginia Department of Health advises the public to avoid natural water bodies across the commonwealth after Tropical Cyclone Helene. 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