DENVER -- Gov. Bill Ritter toured the town of Alamosa Saturday where more than 100 people have been affected by an outbreak of salmonella.

Ritter said he was impressed with the response of local public heath officials response to the outbreak.

"They very much have the situation under control," Ritter said.

However, he added, "We likely have not seen the last case of it because there is an incubation period."

It could be three weeks before Alamosa residents can drink water straight from the tap, after health officials linked the outbreak with the water system.

The governor said officials continue to test to confirm the connection.

"They are fairly certain that the water system is the source — although not 100 percent," he said.

Ned Calonge, chief medical officer for the state health department, said Friday an epidemiological analysis indicates the municipal water system is the source of the rare outbreak.

As of Friday, 138 cases of salmonella linked to the outbreak had been reported in people from infancy to age 89. Of those, 47 were confirmed by lab testing, and seven of them have been hospitalized, Calonge said.

Alamosa, a southern Colorado town with about 10,000 residents, gets its water from a deep well system and is not chlorinated. Officials plan to flush the water system to clean it out on Tuesday, and it could be days after that before the water safe.

Local officials are using reverse-911 call systems to contact residents and plan to leaflet every home and business in the town, Ritter said.

Ritter declared an emergency Friday in Alamosa County, which activates the Colorado National Guard and provides up to $300,000 for emergency response efforts.

He said the town has rallied to deal with the problems.

"It's such a resilient community," he said. "It's not unlike Holly after the tornado struck. I have been heartened by how much the people are working together to resolve this issue and what a community spirit exists."

Under the bottled water order:

At home, use bottled water for cooking, drinking, brushing teeth, making ice, washing dishes and for adding to any food especially for the preparation of baby formula.

Home-style/domestic dishwashing machines are adequate for sanitizing if the heat drying cycle is applied.

Bathing and showering in the water should present no problems for healthy individuals. Exercise caution not to ingest water during such activities.

No commercial food preparation should be done unless approved by the local public health agency.

Consider using prepared food from an alternative approved source.

Use only prepackaged foods that do not require any additional preparation other than heating in its original container.

Frequently wash hands and apply hand sanitizer after washing.

Do not touch food with bare hands. Use disposable gloves.

Use frozen/canned produce.

Purchase packaged potable ice.

Do not use water to wash plates, cups and utensils. Use only single-service utensils, such as paper plates, napkins, cups, plastic spoons, forks and knives.

Additional Resources:

Information about salmonella outbreak is available at the CO-HELP line 1-877-462-2911.
Alamosa residents with any questions about the bottled water order can call the Department of Public Health and Environment at 1-877-462-2911 or go to CityofAlamosa.org.