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TRANSMISSION OF ENTERIC DISEASE ASSOCIATED WITH WASTEWATER IRRIGATION: A PROSPECTIVE EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY
Citation:
Shuval, H., Y. Wax, P. Yekutiel, AND B. Fattal. TRANSMISSION OF ENTERIC DISEASE ASSOCIATED WITH WASTEWATER IRRIGATION: A PROSPECTIVE EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-89/066.
Description:
We conducted a prospective epidemiological study of possible enteric disease transmission by aerosolized pathogens from sprinkler irrigation of partially treated wastewater in 20 kibbutzim (colllective agricultural settlements) in Isreal between March 1981 and February 1982. Medical data were collected from the patients'files and daily log of physicians and nurses at cach kibbutz clinic (total population 10,231). Episodes of enteric disease were similar in the kibbutzim most exposed to wastewater aerosols (11.0 per 100 person-year) and the kibbutzim not exposed to wastewater in any form (11.0 per 100 person-year). o excess of enteric disease was seen among wastewater contact workers or their families as compared with the unexposed. o negative health effects were detected in this study which involoved a large population, including many young children, exposed to treated wastewater aerosols generated a distances of 300-600 m.