More than 1,000 participants have gotten sick after animal feces were mixed in with mud and dirt during a mud run in France.

At first, only about 30 people complained of diarrhea, vomiting and fever but that number skyrocketed to more than 1,000 people. Many participants reportedly smelled horse manure during the competition, suggesting that feces may have somehow gotten mixed up with the mud.

The challenging 8 mile course, which is France’s version of a Tough Mudder race, had participants cross electrified barbed wire, climb through muddy tunnels and over dunes.

A local health agency is currently investigating the cause of the illness. Health experts believe the feces produced bacteria similar to Salmonella that was ingested by participants, many of which were completely covered in the mud.

A record 8,400 people did the event on June 20, which was held on the French Riviera, in Nice.

MP’s Take: If you’re rolling around in mud and dirt, you should expect there to be some sort of bacteria, but nothing of this magnitude. Unfortunately, an issue like this was bound to happen. Thankfully I read that no one was hospitalized. Hopefully in the future event organizers can examine the mud more carefully so something like this doesn’t happen again.

Source

http://elitedaily.com/news/world/thousand-people-sick-mud-run-contaminated-poop/1096399