CDC: Waterborne Diseases on the Rise
By DANIEL YEE, Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA (AP) - Outbreaks of disease from drinking water and swimming
pools
have risen dramatically in recent years despite improvements in
publicly
operated water systems, the government said Thursday.

One of the chief causes includes insufficient regulation of private
wells,
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (news - web sites)
said.
"Many of these drinking-water outbreaks are preventable," said
Sherline Lee
of the CDC. "Whether from the tap or a bottle, the public should
think about
where their water comes from and whether it has been made safe."

About 70 percent of the outbreaks traced to swimming pools involved
the
chlorine-resistant organism cryptosporidium, the CDC said. Germs
found in
wells and other sources of drinking water can include parasites such
as
giardia and cryptosporidium and bacteria such as E. coli and
salmonella.

In 1999 and 2000, the latest years for which numbers are available,
there
were a total of 39 outbreaks involving drinking water in 25 states,
the CDC
reported. That is more than double the 17 outbreaks reported in 1997-
98.

The sharp rise comes even as outbreaks in regulated public water
systems
decline, and indicates that owners of private wells must "make sure
the well
is properly constructed, maintained or tested," Lee said.

A.J. Englande, professor of environmental science at Tulane
University, said
many private wells are not deep enough and can easily be contaminated
from
animal feces carried in from a storm.

"We're just finding out the overall severity of the problem,"
Englande said.
Despite the rise in outbreaks, the number of people sickened by them
remained steady. A total of 2,038 people were made ill by drinking
water
outbreaks in 1997-98, compared with 2,027 in 1999-2000. Two people
died and
122 people were hospitalized in drinking water outbreaks in 1999 and
2000,
the CDC said.

In 1999-2000, nearly 2,100 people in 23 states were sickened in 59
outbreaks
involving swimming pools and other recreational sources, such as hot
springs
and lakes. Four died and 25 were hospitalized.

In 1997-98 there were 32 disease outbreaks involving pools and other
recreational sources that sickened 2,128 people in 18 states.
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