Temporal variation in drinking water turbidity and diagnosed gastroenteritis in Milwaukee

Daily counts of diagnosed gastroenteritis (gastrointestinal events) in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, from January 1992 through April 1993 were compared with reported daily turbidity from the two drinking water treatment plants serving the county. Turbidity in both plants was associated with an increased number of gastrointestinal events even after exclusion of a major documented outbreak of cryptosporidiosis. During the 434-day period prior to the outbreak, an increase in turbidity of 0.5 nephelometric turbidity units at one of the plants was associated with relative risks for gastrointestinal events of 2.35 among children (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.34, 4.12) and 1.17 among adults (95% CI = 0.91, 1.52).