Patient from Norwegian island with contaminated water dies

COPENHAGEN – Norwegian authorities say a patient from an island with contaminated water has died after being hospitalized with “gastrointestinal symptoms.”

Erik Vigander of the regional hospital entity in southern Norway said Thursday that the bacteria Campylobacter was found in the patient’s system. That’s the same bacteria identified in other people sickened since E.coli was found in a reservoir that supplied drinking water for the island of Askoey.

Vigander says the patient who died Wednesday also had “a very serious underlying” health disorder and an autopsy will be performed to determine “the ultimate cause of death.”

A 1-year-old child from the island died last week of an infection in the digestive tract, but it was not clear whether the death was linked to the water contamination.

About 2,000 people have fallen sick. Since June 6, 64 have been hospitalized.