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Over 2,000 ill after drinking contaminated water in Spain's Catalan region

Xinhua, April 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

Over 2,000 people have been taken ill after drinking contaminated bottled water in the Catalan region of Spain, regional health authorities have confirmed.

By the end of Monday, a total of 2,020 people had received treatment for a number of symptoms which include vomiting, diarrhea and fever in both Barcelona and the nearby city of Tarragona.

The illness is caused by a "norovirus infection" of which source has been traced to "spring water bottled in a plant in Andorra," confirm the Catalan Health Authority, which added it is "working with authorities in Andorra to discover the causes of the outbreak."

Meanwhile, the company which is suspected of supplying the contaminated water -- Eden Springs Group -- issued a statement on Twitter, saying it "deeply regretted the incident."

The company added that it believed it had identified the source of the infection, which affected water used in office water dispensers and would recall over 6,000 bottles from over 900 different clients as a "precautionary measure... until the relevant investigation has been carried out." Endit