My husband, daughter and I were on the Wild Africa Trek at 8 am on July 2. None of us got sick after the Trek; as a matter of fact, we had a fabulous time. Today, out of the blue, I got a phone call from the Orange County Health Department saying they were investigating an illness that may have affected people that were on the Trek in June/July. At first, I almost thought it was a prank phone call, but proceeded to listen and answer questions. The questions were so specific that I soon realized, this was not a joke. She asked a lot about the water, the "Jungle Juice" and the food, but she seemed to really be focusing on if/when we washed our hands (and with what) and the binoculars (both on the truck and at the lunch area). I answered the questions to the best of my ability for myself, my husband and my daughter.
Then, tonight, she called again - wanting to verify some facts that I told her (again, mostly about the washing of the hands and the binoculars) and also said she would like to talk to my husband directly. (For the record, all 3 of us washed our hands with soap and water BEFORE we ate lunch and again BEFORE we left the lunch area and returned to the truck). Also, my husband and daughter used the binoculars both on the truck and at the lunch area, but I didn't (I had a camera). My husband ate everything on his plate, and most of what was on mine and my daughter's. This leads me to believe that whatever is causing this horrible illness might not be the food, but instead, something that folks came in contact with (something on those binoculars??) and they didn't wash their hands at the right time? I don't know, I'm not a doctor, but this has me very concerned. I asked her if we could have some illness that hasn't manifested itself yet, and she said that doesn't seem likely based on what other folks have been reporting.
Another thing she wanted to verify was if we filled up our water canteens at the harness station (at the beginning of the trek) and at the midway point. We did, but my daughter and I didn't drink very much water because I wasn't sure when/if a bathroom would be available. The Health Department rep also asked if we washed our hands at Animal Kingdom AFTER the Trek was done (we had).
I feel so bad for the folks that got sick, and I hope that Disney/Orange County Health Department find out the source of this so it never happens again. I'm very impressed at the thoroughness of the questions I was asked, and I'm glad they are taking this seriously.
Instead, we just duck into one of the many restrooms and wash our hands before we go eat. Plus, with DD6, we are in the restroom quite frequently during the day so we have plenty of opportunities to wash our hands!
to the DISBoards!
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), but I will be interested in following the thread if more results of the investigation become available.
