Improvements in the quality of water lower the incidence of waterborne diseases.
In 2001, the probable waterborne outbreak described in the present study was registered.
This may be even more important for waterborne disease than for other causes of outbreaks.
The health benefits are estimated as the improvement in user income due to the reduction in working days lost due to illness from waterborne diseases.
The implications for diarrhoeal and other waterborne illnesses for areas where large numbers are dependent on public hydrants is therefore very serious.
Implementation of these strategies will limit potential environmental contamination, thus reducing potential transmission to other animals and reducing public health impacts due to waterborne zoonoses.
The distribution of acute gastroenteritis cases, which occurred along the same water distribution system, suggests a waterborne origin.
This outbreak investigation illustrates the importance of norovirus as a cause of waterborne illness and the additional exacerbation through person-to-person transmission in closed settings.
