Health Canada
Symbol of the Government of Canada

Common menu bar links

Environmental and Workplace Health

Description - Figure F1 - Estimated burden of illness for drinking water produced using existing treatment processes

A graph showing the distribution of the annual burden of illness estimates from the consumption of drinking water produced using existing treatment processes. The distribution of the burden of illness estimates are shown for each of Cryptosporidium, Giardia, rotavirus, Campylobacter, and E. coli O157:H7. The x-axis of the graph is the annual DALY risk in DALYs per person per year. It is presented on a logarithmic scale and the axis values range from 10-15 to 1. The y-axis of the graph is the normalized probability distribution function. It is presented on a linear scale and the axis values range from 0 to 1. The reference level of risk of 10-6 DALYs per person per year is illustrated on the graph as a dotted vertical line. The annual illness estimates for each pathogen are normally distributed. The distribution curves extend approximately from: slightly less than 10-11 to 10-9 for Cryptosporidium; slightly less than 10-12 to 10-9 for Giardia; 10-15 to 10-13 for rotavirus; slightly greater than 10-11 to slightly less than 10-8 for Campylobacter, and slightly less than 10-11 to 10-9 for E. coli O157:H7. The peak of each probability distribution is normalized to 1.