Lawsuit Filed over Illness After Kansas Wildlife Park Visit

A woman who said she and her three children became violently ill after using a splash park at the Tanganyika Wildlife Park is suing the attraction, alleging unsanitary conditions led to an illness outbreak.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment and Sedgwick County Health Department opened an investigation after several cases of a “diarrheal illness” were connected to Tanganyika’s Splash Park.

Health officials have since identified the bacteria that caused the outbreak of illnesses. State and Sedgwick County health investigators said the Shigella bacteria caused a diarrheal illness in at least three infected people who visited Tanganyika Wildlife Park.

Elena Davis claims in the lawsuit that she and her three children suffered bouts of vomiting, diarrhea, headaches and fever, and one of her children went to a hospital because of severe symptoms.

Attorneys for the family contend Tanganyika did not maintain proper sanitary conditions and did not warn guests about the outbreak in a timely fashion.

Sedgwick County Health Director Adrienne Byrne said the department is not aware of anyone hospitalized because of the outbreak at the park.

The Shigella bacteria is spread from person-to-person through exposure to contaminated feces, the public health agencies said. That can occur through swallowing contaminated water, touching contaminated items and then touching your mouth, or cleaning up after someone using the bathroom or changing diapers.

More than 200 people have responded to a survey designed to identify Tanganyika visitors with symptoms of fever, diarrhea or vomiting. It is not yet clear how many of the respondents may be connected to the outbreak at Tanganyika’s Splash Park, The Wichita Eagle reported.

Topics Lawsuits Kansas