Gastroenteritis associated with accidental contamination of drinking water with partially treated water

SUMMARYDue to human error, drinking water supplied to a new housing estate in The Netherlands was contaminated with grey water. The cohort of 921 accidentally exposed households (area A) had a higher attack rate for diarrhoea (54·1%) than a non-exposed cohort of 1529 households from an adjacent area (B) (24%) (RR 2·3, 95% CI 1·9–2·7). Household water score showed a dose-response with illness, in both areas A and B. For each 1000 inhabitants, 19·8 cases in area A, 7·0 cases in control area B (RRAB2·2, 95% CI 1·3–3·8) and 3·3 cases in a more distant control area C (RRAC4·6, 95% CI 2·7–8·0) were diagnosed with gastroenteritis by their general practitioner. A gastroenteritis outbreak associated with consumption of contaminated drinking water was observed in the exposed area. The use of grey water was banned in 2003, with the exception of rainwater use for flushing toilets. The risk of rainwater use is currently being investigated.

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Efficacy of a ceramic siphon household water filter for removal of pathogenic microorganisms: lifespan volume test

Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development ◽

10.2166/washdev.2011.037 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 102-111 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Amanda R. Kaufman ◽

Lisa M. Casanova ◽

Mark D. Sobsey

Keyword(s):

Drinking Water ◽

Feed Water ◽

Virus Removal ◽

Water Filter ◽

E Coli ◽

Bacteriophage Ms2 ◽

Point Of Use ◽

Household Water ◽

Contaminated Drinking Water ◽

Pass Through

Treatment of drinking water at the point of use (POU) has demonstrated health benefits for people who have access only to microbially contaminated drinking water. In this work, the ceramic siphon POU water filter was evaluated for its ability to reduce indicator microorganisms in test waters. During batch challenge tests, the filter reduced Escherichia coli in filtered water by 7 log10 (99.999987%) and bacteriophage MS2 by 0.12 log10 (24.0%). Next, a novel continuous flow dosing system allowing sewage-amended feed water to constantly pass through the filters allowed for determination of changes in microbial reductions over time and total volume of water filtered. E. coli B, MS2 and fluorescent microspheres (as a surrogate for Cryptosporidium oocysts) were seeded into test water and dosed to filters at 10, 25 and 50% of the filter's volume lifespan. Microbial removal efficacy decreased as the volume of water filtered increased and test filters did not achieve their volume lifespan before physically failing. The ceramic siphon household water filter is effective in reducing E. coli and surrogates for Cryptosporidium in water, but filter modifications may be needed to achieve acceptable levels of virus removal and to reach the target 7,000 L volume lifespan of the filter.

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Associations between perfluoroalkyl substances and serum lipids in a Swedish adult population with contaminated drinking water

Environmental Health ◽

10.1186/s12940-020-00588-9 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Ying Li ◽

Lars Barregard ◽

Yiyi Xu ◽

Kristin Scott ◽

Daniela Pineda ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Drinking Water ◽

Sulfonic Acid ◽

Serum Lipids ◽

Adult Population ◽

Serum Levels ◽

Control Area ◽

High Serum ◽

Perfluoroalkyl Substances ◽

Drinking Water Contamination ◽

Contaminated Drinking Water

Abstract Background Exposures to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have shown positive associations with serum lipids in previous studies. While many studies on lipids investigated associations with perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), there are only a few studies regarding other PFAS, such as perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS). The purpose of the current study is to investigate if associations with serum lipids were present, not only for serum PFOS and PFOA, but also for PFHxS, and if the associations with PFAS remained also in a comparison based only on residency in areas with contrasting exposure to PFAS. Methods 1945 adults aged 20–60 were included from Ronneby, Sweden, a municipality where one out of two waterworks had been heavily contaminated from aqueous fire-fighting foams, and from a nearby control area. The exposure was categorized based on either been living in areas with contrasting PFAS exposure or based on the actual serum PFAS measurements. Regression analyses of serum lipids were fitted against serum PFAS levels, percentile groups, smooth splines and between exposed and reference areas, adjusting for age, sex and BMI. Results Drinking water contamination caused high serum levels of PFOS (median 157 ng/ml) and PFHxS (median 136 ng/ml) and PFOA (median 8.6 ng/ml). These serum PFAS levels in the exposed groups were 5 to 100-fold higher than in the controls. In this population with mixed PFAS exposure, predominantly PFOS and PFHxS, PFAS exposure were positively associated with serum lipids. This was observed both when quantifying exposure as contrast between exposed and controls, and in terms of serum PFAS. Due to high correlations between each PFAS, we cannot separate them. Conclusions In conclusion, the present study provides further evidence of a causal association between PFAS and serum lipids, especially for PFHxS.

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Norovirus Gastroenteritis Outbreak is Associated with Contaminated Drinking Water in South China

Food and Environmental Virology ◽

10.1007/s12560-010-9047-0 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 2 (4) ◽

pp. 207-210 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ya-Qing He ◽

Han-Wu Ma ◽

Xiang-Jie Yao ◽

Qing-Lan Bu ◽

Hong Yang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Drinking Water ◽

South China ◽

Gastroenteritis Outbreak ◽

Norovirus Gastroenteritis ◽

Contaminated Drinking Water

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Selection and evaluation of a new concept of water supply for “IJburg” Amsterdam

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1999.0219 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 39 (5) ◽

pp. 33-40 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

J. P. van der Hoek ◽

B. J. Dijkman ◽

G. J. Terpstra ◽

M. J. Uitzinger ◽

M. R. B. van Dillen

Keyword(s):

Drinking Water ◽

Water Supply ◽

Building Materials ◽

Supply System ◽

Water Supply System ◽

Housing Estate ◽

Toilet Flushing ◽

Household Water ◽

Alternative Water ◽

Alternative Water Supply

The city of Amsterdam is going to build a new housing estate: IJburg. About 18,000 houses will be built and finally 45,000 people will live in IJburg. An important objective is to realize a sustainable housing estate: the design is focused on water and energy saving, and the use of sustainable building materials. An alternative water supply system, in which household water is used besides drinking water, may be an important contribution to this ambition. Household water can be used for toilet flushing, for washing clothes or for both. Amsterdam Water Supply developed five scenarios for such an alternative water supply system. Water saving and supply of two types of water are key elements in these scenarios. Based on a comprehensive selection in which public health aspects, technical feasibility, legislation, acceptance by the public, costs and environmental impact were used as criteria, the optimum scenario was chosen: a dual water system, supplying drinking water from the existing drinking water production plants, and supplying household water for toilet flushing and washing, produced from a local surface water, the IJ-lake.

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