Water
On average, the human body is comprised of about 70% water. As you can see, it is essential to live! But in today's world, more people have a mobile phone than those who have piped water. Unfortunately, 2.5 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation and 780 million lack clean water (UN, 2013). This results in about 7 million deaths annually (UN, 2013). So what are the waterborne illnesses that can make us sick? According to New Health Advisor there are several diseases that are easily spread through contaminated water.
- Cholera: a bacteria called vibrio cholerae causes diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal cramps.
- Amoebiasis: this amoeba causes one of the most common waterborne diseases. Symptoms include severe diarrhea.
- Dysentery: caused by a bacteria that results in fever, vomiting, abdominal pain, and severe diarrhea.
- Hepatitis A: a virus that is spread through the fecal-oral route. The most common symptoms include fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and fatigue.
- Intestinal worms: a variety of parasitic worms can cause diverse symptoms such as malnutrition, anemia, growth restriction, and ulcers.
Young children, the elderly, and those who are immunocompromised are at increased risk. Severe dehydration from diarrhea and vomiting can lead to fatality. In addition, water is also contaminated with chemical pollution from industrialized manufacturing. High levels of pollution can lead to increased levels of cancer, infertility, and endocrine disruption. Policies, like the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the Safe Drinking Water Act, help by implementing regulations on our drinking water. However, the Clean Water Act is not easily regulated. Only two-thirds of the waterways in the US meet the standards set by the bill. The Safe Drinking Water Act ensures that all public water systems are closely monitored for microorganisms, toxins, lead, chemicals, and disinfectants. Unfortunately, this bill does not have any control over the quality of bottled water. Since bottled water makes up a large majority of human water consumption, many people are drinking poor quality/possibly contaminated water. With an increasing population, it is more important than ever before to learn how to better preserve this precious resource.
Resources
http://www.newhealthadvisor.com/Diseases-Caused-By-Water-Pollution.html
http://www.unwater.org/water-cooperation-2013/water-cooperation/facts-and-figures/en/
Hi Elena,
ReplyDeleteYes, it is very sad to know that 2.5 billion people cannot have clean water, which leads death for 7 million people every year. I appreciate for the information about waterborne illnesses you explained. Definitely, I do not want to have these chemicals in my body. Especially, I want to avoid the toxins from water for my future baby. I have a responsibility to make clean my body for pregnancy as much as possible.
Hello Elena,
ReplyDeleteIt is always incredible to see the staggering amount of avoidable deaths which result from causes such as unclean drinking water. More staggering than that, however, is the fact that so little is being done by those entities tasked to protect those who consume the drinking water. As you have pointed out, this is not just a problem that is isolated to the third-world, but is present even in the United States.