Dr. Čibishev: E. coli Contamination of Skopje’s Water Would Result in More Than 50,000 Patients

Toxicologist and professor at the Faculty of Medicine at UKIM, Dr. Andon Čibishev, responded on Facebook following the panic sparked yesterday over the safety of drinking water in Skopje. He said he could not understand the reason or need for spreading misinformation that the water consumed by Skopje residents had been contaminated with the bacterium Escherichia coli.

According to Čibishev, those behind such claims do not appear to understand the consequences that contamination of this kind would have. He explained that Escherichia coli does not cause symptoms or illness in every person or in every case, but if just 10 percent of Skopje’s residents developed intestinal inflammation, the number of patients would exceed 50,000 within one or two days.

The doctor warned that such a situation would become a major problem for the country and could push the healthcare system toward collapse.

In his response, Čibishev called on the Interior Ministry to act urgently to identify those who commissioned, drafted and spread what he described as a despicable lie that has sown fear and distrust among Skopje residents. He called for action to be taken without mercy or selectivity, concluding his post with the words: “May God help us!”