Skip Navigation


IJE Advance Access originally published online on March 27, 2007
International Journal of Epidemiology 2007 36(4):873-880; doi:10.1093/ije/dym029
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrowOA All Versions of this Article:
36/4/873    most recent
dym029v2
dym029v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (2)
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Nygård, K.
Right arrow Articles by Aavitsland, P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Nygård, K.
Right arrow Articles by Aavitsland, P.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association © The Author 2007; all rights reserved.
The online version of this article has been published under an open access model. Users are entitled to use, reproduce, disseminate, or display the open access version of this article for non-commercial purposes provided that: the original authorship is properly and fully attributed; the Journal and Oxford University Press are attributed as the original place of publication with the correct citation details given; if an article is subsequently reproduced or disseminated not in its entirety but only in part or as a derivative work this must be clearly indicated. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Breaks and maintenance work in the water distribution systems and gastrointestinal illness: a cohort study

Karin Nygård1,*, Erik Wahl2, Truls Krogh3, Odd Atle Tveit4, Erik Bøhleng5, Aage Tverdal6 and Preben Aavitsland1

1Division of Infectious Disease Control, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
2Norwegian Food Safety Authority, District office of Trondheim, Trondheim, Norway.
3Division of Environmental Medicine, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
4Trondheim City Waterworks, Trondheim, Norway.
5Norwegian Water and Wastewater BA (NORVAR BA).
6Division of Epidemiology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.

* Corresponding author. Norwegian Institute of Public Health, P.O Box 4404, Nydalen N-0403, Oslo, Norway. E-mail: kany{at}fhi.no


  Abstract

Background During maintenance work or breaks on the water distribution system, water pressure occasionally will be reduced. This may lead to intrusion of polluted water—either at the place of repair or through cracks or leaks elsewhere in the distribution system. The objective of this study was to assess whether breaks or maintenance work in the water distribution system with presumed loss of water pressure was associated with an increased risk of gastrointestinal illness among recipients.

Methods We conducted a cohort study among recipients of water from seven waterworks in Norway during 2003–04. One week after an episode of mains breaks or maintenance work on the water distribution system, the exposed and unexposed households were interviewed about gastrointestinal illness in the week following the episode.

Results During the 1-week period after the episode, 12.7% of the exposed households reported gastrointestinal illness in the household, compared with 8.0% in the unexposed households [risk ratio (RR) 1.58, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1, 2.3]. The risk was highest in households with higher average water consumption. The attributable fraction among the exposed households was 37% in the week following exposure.

Conclusion Our results show that breaks and maintenance work in the water distribution systems caused an increased risk of gastrointestinal illness among water recipients. Better data on the occurrence of low-pressure episodes and improved registration of mains breaks and maintenance work on the water distribution network are needed in order to assess the public health burden of contamination of drinking water within the distribution network.

Keywords Drinking water, gastrointestinal illness, waterborne, water pressure, water distribution

Accepted 7 February 2007


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Int J EpidemiolHome page
S. Ebrahim
Shock and awe: waking the dead
Int. J. Epidemiol., August 1, 2007; 36(4): 701 - 702.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.