Workers find vials of suspected E. coli while dismantling Kelowna camp

KELOWNA, B.C. – Health officials in Kelowna, B.C., says several vials of suspected E. coli bacteria found at a transient camp in the Okanagan don’t belong to the local health authority.

But that simply deepens the mystery surrounding the discovery.

Interior Health spokeswoman Tara Gostelow says the health authority is not missing any of the small glass bottles, which resemble standard medical vials used in labs.

The items were found on Sept. 28, along with some needles, in a homeless camp in a Kelowna park.

Workers called in a hazardous waste disposal team when they spotted the vials while dismantling one of the tents in the abandoned camp.

The Public Health Agency of Canada says E. coli refers to a large group of mostly harmless bacteria commonly found in the intestines of humans and animals, but the agency says some strains can cause serious illness or infection. (CKFR, Kelowna Daily Courier)