MV TELEGRAPH

Spectators watch a race on the River Thames at the Henley Royal Regatta in Henley-on-Thames, west of London, on June 30, 2023. 

Henry Nicholls | Afp | Getty Images

LONDON — Harmful E.coli bacteria has been discovered at “alarmingly high” levels in the U.K.’s River Thames just days before elite rowers are due to compete there for the international Henley Regatta, anti-pollution campaigners have warned.

From Tuesday onwards, around 4,000 rowers from across the globe are set to compete in 400 races to qualify for the iconic regatta, which has taken place along the waterway since 1839.

Water quality testing carried out by River Action campaign group ahead of the race, found E.coli bacteria up to 27 times the acceptable limit for bathing water, prompting health concerns following a rise in E.coli cases in the country.

E.coli is a diverse group of bacteria which, while usually harmless, can produce toxins that can cause severe illness.

River Action tested water in the Henley Mile — part of the regatta course outside the Oxfordshire town — 27 times between May 23 and June 25 and found an average of 1,213 E.coli colony forming units (CFUs) per 100ml of water. It warned the levels were “alarmingly high” in a Thursday statement.

Anything above 900 CFUs/100ml fails the Environment Agency’s inland bathing water quality standards and is deemed a threat to public health, the campaign group said.

More than half (47%) of readings were found to be above the acceptable limit. The highest recorded was 25,000 CFUs/100ml, more than 27 times higher.

River Action also found E.coli levels up to 10 times higher in March tests.

James Wallace, CEO of River Action, accused the government and Thames Water, which manages water supply in the area, of failing to appropriately manage water hygiene levels.

“This is a health emergency. The new government must get a grip of the water pollution crisis and ensure that water companies, including Thames Water, invest urgently in upgrading wastewater treatment plants and fix their leaky infrastructure before someone becomes seriously ill, or worse,” he said in a statement.

Thames Water did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment, though the BBC reported that it had dubbed the findings “alarmist” and said it was monitoring bacteria levels. CNBC also contacted the government’s environment agency but did not immediately receive a response.

Chair of the Henley Royal Regatta committee of management and former Olympic rower Sir Steve Redgrave, said the findings were a “stark reminder” of the impact of sewage pollution.

“Our waterways are vitally important to our competitors racing, but also to all those athletes training on a daily basis nationwide,” he said.

Regatta organizers have advised rowers to cover all cuts and blisters and avoid swallowing river water as thousands of spectators descend on Henley on Thames for the event, which runs until Sunday.

It comes as the U.K. has faced a rise in E.coli cases. Two people with underlying health conditions died following infection with the Shiga-toxin-producing E. coli strain (STEC). One of the deaths is “likely linked” to their STEC infection, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.

That particular strain is thought to have been spread via lettuce leaves within pre-packaged sandwiches.

UKHSA said Thursday that 275 cases of the strain have been confirmed as of June 25, and urged people to watch out for symptoms which can include diarrhoea, stomach cramps, vomiting and fever.

Eli Lilly on Friday said it applied for U.S. approval of its weight loss drug Zepbound for the treatment of the most common sleep-related breathing disorder and expects regulators to make a decision as early as the end of the year.

If cleared by the Food and Drug Administration, the company plans to launch Zepbound for so-called obstructive sleep apnea “as quickly as we can” at the beginning of 2025, Patrik Jonsson, president of Eli Lilly diabetes and obesity, said in an interview.

Also on Friday, the company released additional data from two late-stage trials showing that Zepbound helped resolve obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, in almost half of patients. Eli Lilly presented the new data from the trials at the American Diabetes Association’s 84th Scientific Sessions in Orlando, Florida, on Friday.

“We’re super excited. … I think it actually went beyond what most external experts were hoping for,” Jonsson said of the new data demonstrating that Zepbound can help resolve the disorder in some patients.

It adds to growing evidence that there could be further health benefits tied to a class of weight loss and diabetes treatments that have soared in popularity and slipped into shortages in the U.S. over the past year. The data also paves the way for Eli Lilly to gain broader insurance coverage for Zepbound, which, like other weight loss drugs, is not covered by many insurance plans.

The pharmaceutical giant in April released initial results from the two studies, which showed that Zepbound was more effective than a placebo at reducing the severity of OSA in patients with obesity after a year. 

OSA refers to interrupted breathing during sleep due to narrowed or blocked airways. An estimated 80 million patients in the U.S. experience the disease, Eli Lilly said in a press release. Around 20 million of those people have moderate-to-severe forms of the disease, but 85% of OSA cases go undiagnosed, according to Jonsson. 

OSA can lead to loud snoring and excessive daytime sleepiness, as well as contribute to serious complications, including stroke and heart failure. Patients with the condition have limited treatment options outside of wearing masks hooked up to cumbersome machines while sleeping that provide positive airway pressure, or PAP, to allow for normal breathing.

The first study examined the weekly injection in adults with moderate-to-severe OSA and obesity who were not on PAP therapy. The second trial tested Zepbound in adults with the same conditions, but those patients were on and planned on continuing PAP therapy. 

The new results showed that 43% of people in the first study and 51.5% of patients in the second trial who took the highest dose of Zepbound achieved “disease resolution,” according to a release. That compares with 14.9% and 13.6% of patients who took a placebo in the two trials, respectively. 

“This has huge impacts on patients’ lives,” Leonard Glass, senior vice president of medical affairs at Eli Lilly, diabetes and obesity, told CNBC. “Imagine not having to use a PAP machine, or not having to worry about waking up again in the middle of the night, or for your partners — not having to live with somebody with this condition.”

Researchers came to those conclusions by examining a so-called apnea-hypopnea index, or AHI, which records the number of times per hour a person’s breathing shows a restricted or completely blocked airway. The index is used to evaluate the severity of obstructive sleep apnea and the effectiveness of treatments for the condition. 

Disease resolution for OSA is defined as a patient having fewer than five AHI events per hour, according to Eli Lilly. It is also defined as a person having five to 14 AHI events per hour and scoring a certain number on a standard survey designed to measure excessive daytime sleepiness, the company said. 

Among other new data, the company said 62.3% of patients in the first trial who took Zepbound saw a greater than 50% reduction in AHI events, compared with 19.2% of those on placebo. Meanwhile, 74.3% of people in the second study who took Eli Lilly’s drug saw a more than 50% reduction in AHI, compared with 22.9% of participants who received a placebo.

Eli Lilly on Friday reiterated that Zepbound met the main goal of the trial, which was reducing AHI events. 

Zepbound led to an average of 27.4 fewer AHI events per hour at 52 weeks in people who were not on PAP machines. That compares to an average reduction of 4.8 events per hour for those who received a placebo in the first trial. 

The drug also led to an average of 30.4 fewer AHI events per hour at 52 weeks in patients who were on PAP machines, compared with an average reduction of six events per hour for people on the placebo in the second study.

Eli Lilly previously announced that the FDA granted Zepbound “fast track designation” for patients with moderate-to-severe OSA and obesity. The designation ensures that drugs intended to both treat a serious or life-threatening condition and fill an unmet medical need get reviewed more quickly.