LOL. Yes from what I heard there is a virus going around only infecting men so ALL women are O.K. to go, but guys stay away, its bad news. I will step up and put my heath and wellbeing at risk to make sure everything on the island is under control.

Victims of the unidentified Put-in-Bay gastrointestinal illness .[/QUOTE]

also known as brown bottle flu

I was just there last weekend i did go to the winery I ate food there all weekend and I am fine along with everyone alse that went with me, but sunday morning I did feel like some one had my head in a vice
but that always happens when you leave there

I better go along with you ...just in case......What a guy !! Huh ?
Was there last weekend...No problem...toooooo damn many people tho !@

I have always considered myself a model citizen, I'll go. I would'nt want to put a fellow oso member in harms way




I guess I will see you in PIB this weekend

Wednesday update:
PUT-IN-BAY -- E. Coli bacteria has been discovered in groundwater wells at Heineman Winery and Press House Corner Market, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency reported.

Both Catawba Avenue businesses have been ordered by the Ottawa County Health Department to stop using their well water supplies and septic systems. The EPA findings were generated during investigation of a still-unidentified outbreak of gastrointestinal illness has sickened hundreds of Put-in-Bay residents, summer workers and visitors in recent weeks.

"They've been testing water all over the island," Heineman Winery Assistant Manager Michael Bianchi said. "They've found some of the wells weren't up to snuff, which included us."

The mystery illness causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, cramps, chills and other flu-like symptoms. As of this morning, Ottawa County Health Commissioner Nancy Osborn said her department had received more than 100 reports of patients linked to the outbreak.

Osborn said no definitive links have been made between the E. Coli discoveries and the outbreak. The cause of the sickness remains unidentified. Stool and vomit samples are being analyzed by the Ohio Department of Health, which could issue a report by week's end.

Heineman Winery remains open for business. Late Monday night, Osborn said Press House Corner Market voluntarily closed down its operations.

"The reason why is, they were ordered by the Ohio

EPA to plug the outlet of their septic tank and use it as a holding tank, and have it pumped," she said. EPA officials suspect the market's septic tank may have adversely affected its well water supply, she said.

Nobody answered the phone last night and this morning at Press House Corner Market. The establishment, which includes the newly added Joe's Bar, is located near the entrance to South Bass Island State Park.

The winery and the market are both located in Put-in-Bay Township, where water is largely provided by private wells. The village public water system primarily serves the downtown area.

A message seeking comment was left this morning for Dina Pierce, an Ohio EPA spokeswoman in Columbus.

Bianchi said Heineman Winery employees are now using bottled water for winery operations, and towelettes are being supplied in the restrooms.

He said some winery workers have been stricken by the illness.

"We had some people that had some symptoms two, three weeks ago, but nothing extensive. Everybody's anxiously waiting to see what it is that's causing this out here," he said.

The winery typically sells drinking water to customers from vending machines, Bianchi said.

Media coverage of the Put-in-Bay outbreak continues to gain steam. "I did 20 interviews yesterday," Osborn said. "And five I didn't get to."

Kimm Leslie of Canton, Mich., and her parents boated to Put-in-Bay on July 22. They visited numerous establishments and shared a pizza at The Boardwalk.

The following day, all three fell violently ill with flu-like symptoms -- within one hour of each other.

"I came down with it, my mom came down with it, my dad came down with it," Leslie said. "We didn't know what hit us.

"It was not fun. Not fun at all. I've never been so sick."

Leslie said she suffered stomach pains, diarrhea and vomiting for almost two weeks. Her husband became sick two days after returning home from Put-in-Bay, suffering fever and diarrhea for three days. And their 12-year-old son -- who did not visit the island -- fell ill about a week later and suffered vomiting and fever for close to three weeks.

Initially, the family chalked their medical symptoms up to food poisoning, Then they believed they caught the flu, until they received word of the mystery Put-in-Bay illness.

Two adults who joined the Leslie family on the July 22 island trip never got sick.

Cuyahoga Falls resident Brian Kaiser said he knows two groups of people who fell ill following Put-in-Bay excursions. His father, Dennis Kaiser of Port Clinton, visited the island with five companions the weekend of July 24-25. Four experienced the flu-like symptoms -- "they were sicker than dogs," Kaiser said.

Then the next weekend, one of Kaiser's co-workers reported that four out of five people in his group suffered vomiting, diarrhea and cramping after a Put-in-Bay trip.

"Then I kind of put two-plus-two together. I called my dad and said, 'You're not going to believe this,'" Kaiser said.

I only drink beer there anyway. I might shy away from keg beer.........
Sometimes they do not clean the tap system and that can give you the craps.

I get the same thing every time I go there. I have tried and tried but no matter how much I drink I cannot kill that damn bug.

My guess is the Round House Chicken Grill...............Never fully cooked and ohhhhh so tasty at 2am.

PS. I have been there about 20 times this summer and have yet to get sick from something that is not self inflicted.

I was there for Christmas in July and the weekend after. I didn't get sick!!!!!!!!! I drank every were and ate at the board walk and frosties only

The first thing i thought when i read the news a few days ago was who the he|| was drinking the water anyway?

I was just there a couple weeks ago and the only problems i had were remembering what happened to all of my money and how i got back to the boat the night before so all is good

I'm going to try to make it down again for labor day weekend so i'll let everyone know if it's safe

Well, it looks like there will be plenty of open dock space for next weekend

South Bass Island illness reaches 12 states
Health agencies set up hot line as 750 victims report symptoms

By KIM BATES
BLADE STAFF WRITER


The number of people who have reported becoming sick after visiting South Bass Island climbed to 750 yesterday, with victims now spanning a total of 12 U.S. states as well as Ontario.
The victims of an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness are from as far away as California, Florida, and Texas and have told investigators they visited the Lake Erie tourist spot this summer, health officials said.

Kristopher Weiss, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Health, said more than 400 calls alone have been received at the Ottawa County Health Department since Friday, when the state agency established a toll-free information line.

As of yesterday afternoon, about 136 people were waiting to be interviewed by a team of officials, who include local health experts; representatives of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as members of the state's health department, environmental protection agency, and even the agriculture department.

"This is truly a local, state, and federal collaboration," Mr. Weiss said.

Mr. Weiss said health officials continue to focus on South Bass Island but have not established a cause or source of the mysterious outbreak, which typically triggers one to two-day bouts of nausea, vomiting, fever, chills, and diarrhea.

In addition to taking information from potential victims, members of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency started conducting stops yesterday at local water supplies - including the water plant of the village of Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island.

Carol Hester, a spokesman for the agency, said water and sewer experts are involved in the task of checking all public water systems on the island, which are labeled as such if they supply 25 people or more with water at least 60 days a year.

Ms. Hester was unsure whether actual tests had been conducted yesterday or if results were available.

Last week, the OEPA said well water at two food-service businesses on South Bass Island in Put-in-Bay Township had tested positive last month for E. coli, an indicator of possible fecal contamination.

Authorities have established no link between the businesses' water supplies and the outbreak. No contamination was found at those sites during retests last week.

Maggie Beckford, director of the Put-in-Bay Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the visits yesterday by the myriad of health experts.

"We're absolutely thrilled that the CDC is here," Ms. Beckford said. "We're hoping that between the CDC [and the other agencies] that they will be able to pinpoint the cause."

Ms. Beckford said she's handled more than 300 calls from visitors who want information on whether it's safe to visit.

"We've fielded a lot of phone calls, as has everyone," she said.

Ms. Beckford said she refers those callers to the health department's toll-free line, 1-866-905-4636, which can provide them with the most accurate information to date.

What she does not do, though, is tell them whether or not they should visit the island.

"I feel the best we can do is to allow them to make an informed decision on their own," she said. "I'm not a biologist. I'm not an expert on this. I can't personally reassure someone that everything is going to be fine and they won't get ill."

Health experts plan to keep their information line in operation from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily through at least Friday. On Thursday, Mr. Weiss said officials will review the number of calls received to determine whether the hours need to be extended.

Contact Kim Bates at:
[email protected]
or 419-724-6168.