The National Park Service (NPS) provided a statement to local Arizona news, saying it’s investigating reports of a weird illness among several people who all have one thing in common: a recent rafting trip down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. Common issues among those who are sick include flu-like symptoms and joint pain.
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Matthew Wappett recently posted about his mystery illness on the Facebook group Grand Canyon Private Boaters. Wappett wrote:
“We put on at Lee’s Ferry on May 18 and took out at Diamond on June 2. Three days after returning home, I was in the ER with a swollen knee, fever, and bone-crushing aches in my joints. The doctors thought it was a staph infection in my knee and started me on IV antibiotics and oral antibiotics . . .although they never got a positive staph culture, ever after arthrocentesis and blood cultures.”
“Although the massive course of antibiotics took down the swelling in my knee, which ended up being diagnosed as cellulitis, I have continued to have fevers, severe bone and joint aches, and I was just diagnosed with pneumonia this week. Essentially, I’ve felt like crap ever since returning home . . . and no, it’s not the post-trip blues.”
[RELATED: Young Hiker Dies of Heat-Related Illness on Grand Canyon Trail]
Wappett says no one can figure out what he’s dealing with, so he took to Facebook to find answers. That’s when he found several other people dealing with the similar symptoms.
Officials Are Aware of the Problem
The NPS’s statement to 12 News reads:
“The National Park Service is aware of the specific river trip and the reported illnesses described in numerous Facebook posts on the Grand Canyon Rafting community site. The National Park Service Office of Public Health is leading the investigation in coordination with the appropriate public health partners.
See an interview with one of the rafters who’s helping to generate awareness about the illness he contracted in the Grand Canyon below.
Header stock image by Jim Mallouk/Getty Images
