Clean, uncontaminated water is essential for life and health. Furthermore, lack of basic sanitation, including the inability to property treat waste-water, has immediate and dire health consequences. Consumption of polluted water can result in outbreaks of water borne disease as cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery and other gastrointestinal disease.
Diarrheal disease in children is a common clinical illness in practice. It is a largely self-limited disease with many etiologies. It is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children in developing countries.
Here in the Philippines, there are some environment current issues, like uncontrolled deforestation especially in watershed area that’s why a little amount of rainfall would cause flood. Floods would cause water pollution in major urban center leading to a high incidence of waterborne disease such as diarrhea, typhoid, gastroenteritis, leptospirosis, malaria and dengue fever.
Hepatitis A and E – Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. Different viruses such as hepatitis A, B, C, D and E cause the disease. Both Hepatitis A and E (HAV and HEV) are waterborne diseases. Consumption of water or food contaminated by the stool of an HAV or HEV infected person causes hepatitis. Poor sanitation and poor personal hygiene are risk factors for infection. Jaundice or yellowing of the skin, eyes, urine, is the characteristic of hepatitis. Both these are self-limiting viral infections. Vaccine is available for hepatitis A to protect you from the disease. There is no vaccine for hepatitis E infection.
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| Malaria Carrier |
Dengue fever - mosquito-borne (Aedes aegypti) viral disease associated with urban environments; manifests as sudden onset of fever and severe headache; occasionally produces shock and hemorrhage leading to death in 5% of cases.
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| Cause of the Leptospirosis |
Cholera - An acute bacterial disease transmitted through food or water contaminated with human faeces. The intestinal infection is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholera.
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| Cycle of the Schistosomiasis |
Staying Away From Water-Borne Diseases
· Use safe drinking water. Boiling water is the best way to remove germs. Filters provide safe water
· Wash your hands often with soap and water. Wash before and after eating food, before handling food and after going to the toilet
· Wash raw vegetables and fruits in running water before eating
· Avoid eating raw foods such as fruits, salads or chats from roadside stalls, especially during monsoon
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Getting health and safety training is a must nowadays. People who are not aware of diseases of such kind end up getting one for themselves. Thanks for sharing the information about common water borne disease.
Regards,
Arnold Brame
Health and Safety Risk Assessments