At the site of this Gathering, many Rainbow Family members did not boil water from springs that were high in fecal coliform bacteria. During the week of July 1-4, many people had diarrhea and fever. As people at the Gathering became sick, they used the latrines less and less. Uncovered human wastes were scattered where people traveled and camped. Many people went barefoot and their stepping in uncovered human wastes helped transmit the disease.
Shigellosis is a highly contagious form of dysentery, caused by shigellae bacteria.
The disease is transmitted by direct or indirect fecal-oral contact from one person to another or by contaminated food or water. Individuals primarily responsible are those who fail to clean adequately their fecally contaminated hands. Transmission by water, milk, or flies may occur as a result of direct fecal contamination. One need ingest only a small number of organisms to contract the disease, and symptoms normally appear within seven days. Two CDC doctors visited the site of the Gathering the week after July 4 and interviewed a large percentage of the Rainbow Family members remaining at the site.