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2
It was unfortunate that we had not been informed at the
beginning, as it was impossible for us to get any report on the
bacterial content of the water actually proved to be polluted, and
the investigation had to be based mainly on the bacteriological
examination of the stools of sufferers, and agglutination tests of
the patients' bloods against the usual organisms known to produce
such outbreaks.
The analysis of the sufferers revealed no common departmental
aggregation, but pointed to water drinking as the common factor,
as shown by the following table.
First Shift (includes 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., 6 a.m. to 4.30 p.m., 7 a.m.
to -6.,30 p.m.—
Total Number affected 54
Total number who drank raw water 48
Total number who did not drink raw water, but drank
either tea or coffee 6
Second Shift (includes 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.)—
Total number affected 28
Total number who drank raw water 24
Total number who did not drink raw water but drank
either tea or coffee 3
Total number who had milk only 1
Third Shift (includes 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.)—
Total number affected 44
Total number who drank raw water 43
Total number who did not drink raw water but drank
tea 1
Administrative and Staff—
Total number affected 43
Total number who had raw water 30
Total number who did not drink raw water but drank
tea or coffee 11
Total number who had typical symptoms but had no
beverage of any description on premises 1
Total number who had no beverage on premises, but
symptoms are not typical 1