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. 2005 Feb;11(2):251-9.
doi: 10.3201/eid1102.040274.

Sporadic cryptosporidiosis decline after membrane filtration of public water supplies, England, 1996-2002

Stella Goh  1 , Mark Reacher, David P Casemore, Neville Q Verlander, André Charlett, Rachel M Chalmers, Margaret Knowles, Anthony Pennington, Joy Williams, Keith Osborn, Sarah Richards
Affiliations

Sporadic cryptosporidiosis decline after membrane filtration of public water supplies, England, 1996-2002

Stella Goh et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2005 Feb.

Abstract

The incidence of sporadic cryptosporidiosis among 106,000 residents of 2 local government districts in northwest England before and after installation of membrane filtration of public water supplies was compared to that of 59,700 residents whose public water supplies remained unchanged. A national outbreak of foot and mouth disease in livestock during 2001 was associated with a decline in sporadic human cryptosporidiosis in all regions of the United Kingdom. In a Poisson regression model, membrane filtration was associated with an estimated 79% reduction (incidence ratio 0.207, 95% confidence intervals 0.099-0.431, p < 0.0001) after adjustment for the interval of the foot and mouth disease epidemic and the water source. Despite the confounding effect of that epidemic, membrane filtration of the public water supply was effective in reducing the risk for sporadic human Cryptosporidium infection in this population.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cases of primary cryptosporidiosis per 100,000 person-years before and after membrane filtration introduced into public water supplies, derived from Crummock Lake, Ennerdale Lake, and other water sources.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Average number of cases by month of onset before membrane filtration, March 1, 1996–February 29, 2000, Allerdale and Copeland local government districts.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Average number of cases by month of onset after membrane filtration introduced March 1, 2000, to August 31, 2002, Allerdale and Copeland local government districts.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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