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Nineteen people fell ill with a diarrheal disease in Montana last year after drinking untreated water many believed to be from a natural spring but was, in fact, just creek drainage brimming with pathogenic bacteria.
One person was hospitalized in the outbreak, which ended only after authorities diverted the water source, local health officials reported Thursday in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly.
The outbreak follows a trend that sprung up in the US several years ago of drinking so-called “raw water.” That is untreated, unfiltered water collected directly from freshwater sources that is often claimed—without evidence—to have health benefits.
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Source: Ars Technica – Trendy “raw water” source under bird’s nest sparks diarrheal outbreak