PRIVATE WATER SUPPLIES 5 



The only diseases which in this State may be contracted by drinking con- 

 taminated water are typhoid fever and dysentery. There has been some sug- 

 gestion that jaundice might be transmitted in this manner but proof of this is 

 lacking. 



Now the chance in this State of contracting typhoid or dysentery from any 

 source whatsoever is about 1 in 500,000. The Massachusetts State Board 

 of Health, in their Annual Report for 1939, list only 78 cases of typhoid 

 fever as occurring in the entire State for that year. The total number of 

 dysentery cases for the same period was 491. This latter figure may seem 

 rather high but further study of the Report shows that most were of 

 epidemic form and located in institutions. 



In a personal communication from Dr. Roy F. Feemster, Director of 

 the Division of Communicable Diseases, the following comment is made: 



We make a careful investigation of each case of typhoid fever 

 and bacillary dysentery and there is little in our records to indicate 

 that any of the cases in 1939 or in the years immediately preceding 

 were contracted because of contaminated private water supplies. 

 Bacillary dysentery may occasionally be transferred in this way 

 but I have considerable doubt as to whether any of our typhoid 

 cases result from the drinking of contaminated water. You will 

 be interested to know that practically all of our typhoid cases 

 occur singly and it is hard to believe that a water supply could 

 cause one case in a family and not afifect other individuals using 

 water from the same source. The reason for this condition can be 

 attributed to a number of factors, among them the alertness of 

 people of this area to make sure that water supplies are satisfac- 

 tory and the fact that we are in a glacial region containing sand 

 which acts as a natural sand filter. 



To these reasons we would add another rather obvious one. In the 

 case of any water supply the only persons capable of contaminating that 

 supply are those living in its immediate vicinity. If none of these persons 

 contracts typhoid or dysentery from an outside source, or if none of these 

 persons is a carrier of the disease organisms, then it is practically im- 

 possible for such bacteria to gain access to the supply. Even if the 

 drainage from a cesspool, backhouse, or any other sewage disposal system 

 were to run directly into the well, it would still be practically impossible 

 for persons drinking the water to contract typhoid or dysentery from that 

 water. 



The floods of 1936 present a fine illustration of the fact that the chances 

 of contracting disease from drinking contaminated water are, in this State, 

 practically nil. In our knowledge hundreds of wells were inundated with 

 polluted flood water. In many cases the water was used for drinking 

 before health authorities had the chance to purify the water. Yet no case 

 of typhoid fever resulted from these conditions. 



However, even if a contaminated water may not cause a specific disease, 

 no one cares to drink it. Whether the contamination is of human or 

 animal source makes little difference; it is not a desirable water for human 

 consumption. There is some evidence to indicate that while water con- 

 taining sewage material may not cause a specific disease, it may cause 

 intestinal upsets of varying intensity. It is here that the laboratory test 

 renders its greatest service, for this test is designed to detect minute 

 amounts of sewage material rather than actual disease-producing bacteria. 



