Waterborne Outbreaks

Confirmed Waterborne Outbreaks

A confirmed waterborne disease outbreak is defined as an incident in which two or more persons experience a similar illness after having contact with the same source of drinking or recreational water and epidemiologic evaluation implicates the water as the source of illness. Confirmed outbreaks may or may not be laboratory-confirmed.

Confirmed outbreaks may be classified as:

1. Laboratory-Confirmed Agent: Outbreaks in which laboratory evidence of a specific etiologic agent is obtained.
2. Epidemiologically Defined Agent: Outbreaks in which the clinical and epidemiologic evidence defines a likely agent, but laboratory confirmation is not obtained.
3. Outbreak of Undetermined Etiology: Outbreaks in which laboratory confirmation is not obtained and clinical and epidemiologic evidence cannot define a likely agent.

Probable Waterborne Outbreaks

A probable waterborne disease outbreak is defined as an incident in which two or more persons experience a similar illness after having contact with the same source of drinking or recreational water, and epidemiologic evaluation suggests that the water is the source of illness, but person-to-person transmission or other exposures cannot be ruled out.

This is an excerpt from the Summary of Gastroenteritis Outbreaks in Minnesota