Sanitary sewage overflows, boil water advisories, and emergency room and urgent care visits for gastrointestinal illness: a case-crossover study in South Carolina, USA, 2013-2017.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Sanitary sewage overflows (SSOs) release raw sewage, which may contaminate the drinking water supply. Boil water advisories (BWAs) are issued during low or negative pressure events, alerting customers to potential contamination in the drinking water distribution system.

Objective

We evaluated the associations between SSOs and BWAs and diagnoses of gastrointestinal (GI) illness in Columbia, South Carolina, and neighboring communities, 2013-2017.

Methods

A symmetric bi-directional case-crossover study design was used to assess the role of SSOs and BWAs on Emergency Room and Urgent Care visits with a primary diagnosis of GI illness. Cases were considered exposed if an SSO or BWA occurred 0-4 days, 5-9 days, or 10-14 days prior to the diagnosis, within the same

SUBMITTER: Rothenberg SE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9851942 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature