context: A large waterborne outbreak of NoV occurred in Lilla Edet in Sweden in 2008. On 11 September 2008, the County Medical Ofcer (CMO) was informed about an unusually high number of individuals who had suddenly fallen ill with gastrointestinal symptoms during the previous days in Lilla Edet, a small municipality in southwest Sweden. Cases of gastroenteritis were reported from different places in the municipality, e.g. from the nursery schools, schools, nursing homes and from the Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC). The CMO notified the Environmental Office in the municipality about the ongoing outbreak. As the initial information indicated that drinking water was a possible source of the outbreak a boil water recommendation was issued on the same day. Investigations were initiated to identify the causative agents, the extent of the outbreak and possible sources of infection. Efforts were also made to inform the inhabitants in the municipality about the ongoing outbreak, the issued boil water recommendation, and medical advice for people with gastrointestinal symptoms. Information was spread via the media, the homepage of the municipality website, posters and local radio as VMA, i.e important message to the public. In addition to the cases reported from the municipality of Lilla Edet, the CMO was notified that 7/17 athletes of a team that had visited the municipality during the afternoon on 7 September had fallen ill with gastrointestinal symptoms 2 days after their visit. To estimate the proportion of the 13000 inhabitants in Lilla Edet that fell sick during the outbreak, questionnaires were sent by mail on 19 September to 1199 randomly selected inhabitants between the ages of 19 and 75 years. A case was defined as a household member with acute gastroenteritis with date of onset between 5 and 21 September. Fifty stool samples from outpatients with symptoms of acute gastroenteritis attending Lilla Edet PHC during 12-26 September were collected and examined for enteric pathogens, as described by Nenonen et al. [20]. Water samples, i.e. raw water from the Gta lv river, drinking water from different parts of the distribution network, and water from reservoirs in Lilla Edet, were collected on 12 September and analyzed at the microbiological laboratory at SMI for the presence of E. coli and coliform bacteria by Colilert 18 (IDEXX, USA), intestinal enterococci by Enterolert (IDEXX), (oo)cysts of Giardia spp. and Cryptosporidium spp. according to ISO 15553:2006, Clostridium perfringens according to ISO/CD 6461-2:2002, somatic coliphages according to ISO 10705-1:2000, Campylobacter spp. by culture on CCDA agar (in-house method), Salmonella spp. according to ISO 6340:1995, Verotoxin-producing E. coli (VTEC) by PCR screening for vt genes and NoV by seminested PCR [22]. Additional water samples were collected on 17 September and analyzed for presence of NoV and coliphages. From the questionnaire survey it could be calculated that out of the 7500 inhabitant that lived in households supplied by drinking water from Lilla Edet WTP, about 2000 (26.7%) fell ill with acute gastroenteritis. NoV was detected in 33/50 stool samples collected from patients with symptoms of acute gastroenteritis. NoV strains of genogroup I (GI) predominated in 31 of these samples and mixed genotypes of GI infections occurred in ve samples, as described by Nenonen et al. [20]. Adenovirus was detected in one, sapovirus in one and rotavirus in three stool samples. Campylobacter spp. were isolated from two stool samples. In samples from the drinking water system in Lilla Edet collected on 12 September, E. coli, coliforms, enterococci, Giardia, Cryptosporidium, Clostridium, Campylobacter or NoV could not be detected, while faecal indicator bacteria and coliphages [300 plaque- forming units (p.f.u.)/100 ml] were found in raw water samples from the Gta lv river. However, somatic coliphages in concentrations between 4 and 42 p.f.u./100 ml were detected in samples from the drinking water system collected on 17 September and in samples from the raw water collected on the same date. In the Lilla Edet outbreak early detection of NoV strain diversity in stool samples strengthened the initial hypothesis that contaminated drinking water was the point source. Thus, the waterborne outbreak in Lilla Edet was most probably a consequence of the heavy faecal contamination of the raw water from Gta lv river [20]. 
  
answers: {'answer_start': [1835], 'text': ['stool samples']}