Citing concerns about infection control at two Thunder Bay businesses that provide colon-cleansing services, the District Health Unit has shut the services down pending further investigation.
Colon-cleansing, also known as hydrotherapy or irrigation, is on hold at the Colon Therapy Clinic on Park Avenue and at the Natural Health and Chiropractic Clinic on Victoria Avenue.
Lee Sieswerda, the health unit's environmental health manager, on Monday said that an investigation was started after a complaint from the public about the infection control practices at both facilities.
"We confirmed that there were some basic failures of infection control," he said.
"As a result of our observations, and determining that infection control was not up to standard, and that this could pose a risk to the public in terms of disease transmission," Sieswerda said, "we closed both temporarily while we conduct a full infection control and prevention investigation."
The health unit will now determine the degree of disease transmission risk to which clients may have been exposed.
Sieswerda said he won't pre-judge the outcome of that process, which he expects will be completed within two weeks.
Depending on the results of the investigation, a decision will be made whether it's necessary to formally notify clients of the two services.
