Transmission of enteric disease associated with wastewater irrigation: a prospective epidemiological study.

We conducted a prospective epidemiological study of possible enteric disease transmission by aerosolized pathogens from sprinkler irrigation of partially treated wastewater in 20 kibbutzim (collective agricultural settlements) in Israel between March 1981 and February 1982. Medical data were collected from the patients' files and daily logs of physicians and nurses at each kibbutz clinic (total population 10,231). Episodes of enteric disease were similar in the kibbutzim most exposed to wastewater aerosols (11.6 per 100 person-year) and the kibbutzim not exposed to wastewater in any form (11.0 per 100 person-year). No excess of enteric disease was seen among wastewater contact workers or their families as compared with the unexposed. No negative health effects were detected in this study which involved a large population, including many young children, exposed to treated wastewater aerosols generated at distances of 300-600 m.