Dirty Water Diseases
Lack of Water
| Woman Carrying Fruits in Africa. Photo courtesy of Bernardita Valdes. | Dirty Water in Chile. Photo courtesy of Bernardita Valdes. |
Diseases of Dirty Water
Having clean water to satisfy our basic needs may be, for us, a normal thing. But reality shows us that drinking water safety cannot be taken for granted. There are lots of countries that can't ensure clean water for their inhabitants. It is very difficult (for poor governments especially) to provide big amounts of clean water, because it is easily contaminated: improperly disposed of chemicals, etc. Water that is not well, or completely desinfected can provoke a dangerous health risk for the whole population. (Gerard, 2007)
Drinking contaminated water can provoke in human body multiple diseases and consequences. Young children, women and old people have more risks of having these diseases. In countries from the Sub Saharian Africa or south Asia, water is not accessible for every inhabitant, so diseases that come from contaminated waters are one of the main causes of deaths. Water related diseases are a human tragedy, killing millions of people each year.
Cholera and Typhoid Fever
We can identify many infections that are caused because of the drinking of contaminated water. Cholera, for example, is an infectious gastroenteritis caused by the bacteria Vibrium Cholerae. This bacteria lives mostly in dirty waters, transmission to human beings is by eating or drinking contaminated food. In Africa it is estimated that 1000 people die each year because of Cholera. And there are 384.000 cases of kids under ten years-old present this diseases each year. (Safe Drinking Water Act, 2001)
Typhoid Fever is another infection caused by a bacteria named Salmonella that lives in dirty waters and is transmitted to human because of drinking water with feces contaminated with Salmonella. Although in most of the cases Typhoid Fever is not mortal, there are economic consequences for the government and families: antibiotics, doctors, and hospitals are very expensive. (Loren, 2004)