Public Health Aspects of the Rainbow Family of Living Light Annual Gathering Allegheny National Forest Pennsylvania 1999

Nearly 20,000 attended this event, held in a remote location that was not accessible by vehicle and did not have sanitary facilities. The festival provided alternative medical care and local public health employees were permitted to visit the site daily (but were requested to keep their interactions informal). Local emergency department staff asked all patients seeking care during a certain time period if they had attended the festival. Of the 115 recorded attendees seeking healthcare, one death was reported, as were a variety of infections, musculoskeletal injuries, insect/dog/snake bites, and other conditions.