How safe is your water source? How clean are your water storage containers? Is the potable water you are drinking safe? Have ever suffered from bacterial infection due to water contamination? It is easy to answer these questions if you have had an experience with Cholera, Typhoid, or H pylori. Stomach pain, diarrhea, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, headache, body weakness, and loss of weight are some effects of drinking contaminated water.
Water is a vital component in everyday domestic activities, but contaminated water is a source of bacterial infection and disease to your body. Water is used both indoor and outdoor at residences for drinking, food preparation, bathing, washing clothes and dishes, flushing toilets, watering lawns and gardens, and maintaining pools. Domestic water is supplied in potable and non-potable means through public or private domestic water suppliers. The supplied domestic water is typically withdrawn from rivers, lakes, oceans, wells, and boreholes or captured as rainwater. Contamination of water sources can result in bacterial infection through contact or when drinking.
Waterborne pathogens are disease-causing bacteria and viruses from human and animal waste, which are a major cause of illness from contaminated drinking water. Waterborne illness is caused by recreational or drinking water contaminated by disease-causing microbes or pathogens. Most waterborne pathogens are introduced into drinking-water supplies in human or animal feces and initiate infection in the gastrointestinal tract following ingestion. Contaminated domestic water can result in infection spread. The majority of people in rural areas and congested urban centers with poor water and sewerage infrastructure have experienced bacterial infections due to water contamination multiple times.
According to WHO, bacterial contamination of drinking water is a major public health problem in urban slums and rural areas of Africa. Contaminated water sources are a major reservoir of Escherichia coli that causes severe diarrhea in humans. H pylori can survive in water and then penetrate particular parts and organs of the gastrointestinal tract through the contaminated water.
Contaminated water and poor sanitation transmit diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid, and polio. Contaminated water can be the source of large outbreaks of disease, including cholera, dysentery, and cryptosporidiosis.
Sources of drinking water are subject to contamination and require appropriate treatment to remove disease-causing contaminants. Water contamination can occur during processing, packaging, transportation, in the stores, or when at the final consumer. Potable water has been linked to pathogens such as pseudomonas and legionella. Contact or ingestion of contaminated ice can result in bacterial infections such as Enterobacter, Pseudomonas, Cryptosporidium, or Legionella. Sinks provide host to pseudomonas that can be transmitted to humans through water droplets and contact. During the shower, we inhale aerosols, which can transmit legionella if contaminated.
Transmission of waterborne infections is through direct contact, ingestion of water through consuming contaminated ice, inhalation of aerosols dispersed from water sources, aspiration of contaminated water. In the Cities, water from drains or sewage can seep into the supply due to the deterioration of pipes. Waterborne illnesses can cause a variety of symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting which are the most commonly reported symptoms of waterborne illness, other symptoms can include skin, ear, respiratory, or eye problems.
Water contaminants can lead to adverse health effects, including gastrointestinal illness, reproductive problems, and neurological disorders. Infants, young children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people whose immune systems are compromised because of AIDS, chemotherapy, or transplant medications, may be especially susceptible to illness from some contaminants.
It is important to ensure your water sources are clean, storage containers are cleaned regularly, sink and water areas are cleaned with detergents to remove harmful bacteria. Domestic water can be purified through boiling or appropriate disinfectants before use. Boiling is the surest method to kill disease-causing organisms, including viruses, bacteria, and parasites. Disinfectants can kill most harmful or disease-causing viruses and bacteria but are not as effective in controlling more resistant organisms.
Sustainable Development Goal target 6.1: UNIVERSAL AND EQUITABLE ACCESS TO SAFE AND AFFORDABLE DRINKING WATER.
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