Population morbidity in a community with nitrate contamination of drinking water.

The population morbidity assessed according to ICD-9 was studied in the village of Karadzhalovo, the district of Plovdiv, where concentration of nitrates in drinking water was constantly above the tolerable level. The observation was carried out within a 5-year period (1990-94). The data were compared with those from a control village in the same district. Nonparametrical analysis was used to make a comparative analysis of the disease incidence in both communities for the observed period. Significant statistical differences were found between the morbidity in the experimental and the control villages.