IMPACT OF UNSAFE WATER ON PUBLIC HEALTH
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page – – – – – – – – – i
Certification – – – – – – – – ii
Dedication – – – – – – – – – iii
Acknowledgement – – – – – – – – iv
Table of Contents – – – – – – – – v-vi
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION – – – – – – – 1-3
CHAPTER TWO
2.1 Sources of Water Contamination – – – – 4-5
2.1.1 Bacteria – – – – – – – – 5-6
2.1.2 Viruses – – – – – – – – 6-7
2.1.3 Parasites – – – – – – – – 7-9
2.1.4 Heavy Metals – – – – – – – 9
2.2 Water Quality – – – – – – – 9-11
2.3 Statues and Trend of Water Supply – – – – 11-12
2.4 Challenges of Good Water Supply – – – – 12-16
CHAPTER THREE
3.1 Public Health Impact of Using Water Contamination
with Micro-Organism – – – – – – 17-18
3.1.1 Drinking Water and Diarrhoeal Disease – – – 18-19
3.1.2 Non-Diarrhoel Disease – – – – – – 19
3.2 Health Impact of Heavy Metal Contamination
of Drinking Water – – – – – – – 20-22
3.3 Treating Drinking Water and Prevention of
Water Contamination – – – – – – 22-24
3.4 Strategies to Achieve and Improved Water Supply – – 24-25
CHAPTER FOUR: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
4.1 Summary – – – – – – – – 26-27
4.2 Conclusion – – – – – – – – 27-28
References
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
According to the WHO definition, improved drinking water sources are sources that are protected from outside contamination, in particular from contamination with fecal matter by nature of its construction or through active intervention (Wright et al., 2004). WHO reported about 9.1% of the global burden of disease and 6.3% of all deaths are due to unsafe water, inadequate sanitation, and poor hygiene (Pruss-Ustun et al., 2008). Microbial contamination is very common affecting all water source types including piped supplies in many developing countries (Barin et al., 2014). It is mentioned that approximately, 780 million people in the world were without access to safe drinking water in 2012 (WHO, 2012).
Waterborne disease outbreak is said to happen if two or more persons experience a similar illness as a result of consumption or use of water intended for drinking; and epidemiologic evidence showed the water as the source of the illness (Levine et al., 1990). Around the globe, around 1.8 billion people use unsafe source of water that is polluted by feces signified by 53% and 35% incidence in Africa and South-East Asia, respectively. It has been estimated that every year, nearly 1 million people die due to waterborne diseases. In addition, around 37.7 million are affected by waterborne diseases, 1.5 million children are estimated to die of diarrhea alone, and 73 million working days are lost due to waterborne disease annually (Kumar et al., 2014). In countries with low and middle-income, diarrhea-related diseases are the tenth leading causes of death (Murrary et al., 2014). Unsafe water and poor sanitation cause more than 500,000 infant deaths each year in the 3acific region of Asia (Kerala et al., 2009).
Approximately, 11% of child deaths worldwide are attributed to a diarrheal disease and of these cases, 88% are caused by unsafe water or improper sanitation. Therefore, the quality of drinking water cannot be overlooked when assessing the role of water in public health. A safe, affordable, and easily accessible potable water reserve is vital for a sound health (Hunter et al., 2010). However, for several decades, about a billion people in developing countries have not had a safe and sustainable water supply. Water is considered ‘safe’ when it is free from pathogenic agents, free from harmful chemical substances, and pleasant to taste, i.e., ideally free from color and odor, and usable for domestic purposes (Park et al., 2011). A drinking water system’s water quality may be acceptable when the water just leaves a treatment plant. However, various physical, chemical, and biological contaminations can happen while the water travels through a distribution system. The most common diseases that can be transmitted through water are diarrheal diseases such as bacillary dysentery, typhoid, paratyphoid, cholera, salmonellosis, colibacillosis, amoebiasis, giardiasis, and cryptosporidiosis. There are many emerging waterborne diseases, such as cryptosporidiosis, cyclosporidiosis, fascioliasis, fasciolopsiasis, and giardiasis, which may also be acquired by food. Contact of the skin or mucous membranes with animal urine contaminated water or bathing in contaminated water (pond, canal, and stream) can result in Leptospira infection in humans (Zuthi et al., 2009).
Adequate access to safe water, improving quality of water source, treating household water, and storing it safely, adequate sanitation facilities, and encouraging good hygiene practices, especially hand washing can prevent waterborne diseases (WHO, 2014).