CDC Releases New Reports on US Waterborne Disease Outbreaks

CDC Releases New Reports on US Waterborne Disease Outbreaks  

The United States has one of the safest drinking water supplies in the world, but outbreaks of disease associated with drinking water and other types of water still occur. CDC released two newreports that describe 69 waterborne disease outbreaks reported from 2013 and 2014. The outbreaks were associated with drinking water, environmental exposures to water (such as water from cooling towers, decorative fountains, or back-country streams), and undetermined exposures to water (where an exposure to a single type of water could not be identified).

What You Should Know

• Most of the outbreaks (61%) were associated with drinking water, which refers to water that comes out of our tap. This water may be used for multiple reasons, like drinking, cooking, cleaning, or bathing.
• Legionella caused all the deaths and most of the hospitalizations in these waterborne disease outbreaks.
• This is the first time CDC has reported drinking water outbreaks associated with harmful algal blooms.
• The information in these reports helps identify threats to safe water and ways to address them.

What You Can Do

• Learn more by reading the full reports from CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
• Learn about where your drinking water comes from and what makes it safe to use.
• Spread the word by sharing this message on social media:
  • US drinking water systems are among the safest but outbreaks still occur. Learn more in new @CDCMMWR report https://go.usa.gov/xnDJ5