Waterborne Infectious Hepatitis Epidemic from a Chlorinated Municipal Supply

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Abstract
An epidemic of 83 cases of infectious hepatitis with jaundice occurred in 2 neighboring New York State communities between November 21, 1956, and February 1, 1957. Seventy of the cases occurred within the first 30 days of the epidemic. The 2 communities, although 2 miles apart, had a common water supply. As an emergency measure water was taken from a stream potentially subject to pollution. It was chlorinated but not otherwise treated. Only 2 of the first 70 patients did not reside on the water supply. The distribution in time of the cases is consistent with a common-source epidemic. Milk, food, contact, insect, hepatotoxins, and parenteral inoculations appeared very unlikely as common sources of infection. It is concluded that the epidemic of infectious hepatitis was waterborne through the emergency water supply, despite the fact that the water was chlorinated.