In our previous posts we have informed you about the many causes and consequences that water pollution has on our lives and more importantly on our health. We gave you various tips for your home or your business to encourage you to recycle and adopt greener practices in regards to water conservation.  What we haven’t told you is that microbial pollutants like water-borne pathogens are a serious cause of health damage and economic problems. The range of dangerous infectious disease is increasing and continuously evolving as industries and individuals use more and more chemical products. In both developed and developing countries both are faced with water quality issues. In most cases people end up drinking contaminated water due to inadequate systems of sewage disposal and negligence on the side of many industries and single individuals.

From the 1980’s to 1990s the quantity of pathogens, disease-causing organisms, has grown in an exponential fashion. In countries where real health facilities are lacking, water-borne pathogens become a deadly weapon, especially for young children. According to a recent report, “high levels of bacteria and viruses can be found in waters contaminated with untreated human sewage. Disinfection can reduce these levels by as much as 99.99% for viruses and 99.9999% for bacteria. However, many newly recognized pathogens such as Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora or Toxoplasma have shown increased resistance to conventional disinfection methods” (Source: http://www.bvsde.paho.org/bvsacg/i/fulltext/emerge/emerge.pdf). Various other pathogens are still being studied, while other remain unknown to scientists. Only time will tell the actual impact they have human beings. Yet, the increase number of outbreaks speaks for itself and demonstrates that this problem is far from being solved. The increasing number of cases signals the urgent necessity to review sewage infrastructures. “Pathogenic bacteria can occur in surface water in larger numbers, either being excreted in faeces or occurring naturally in the environment. Bacteria typically range in size between 0.5 and 2 micrometers” (Source: http://hsc.sca.nsw.gov.au/biology/water-pathogens). Culture techniques are fundamental in order to evaluate the microbial quality of drinking water. Such studies do not identify specific pathogens but rely on the analysis of indicator bacteria such as coliforms and enterococci, revealing the possible existence of microbial pathogens of faecal origins.  Coliforms and E. Coli are pathogens that survive inside the intestines of animals and human beings, and are eliminated from the human body through faeces. If those excrements are not treated in the right manner, they end up being dumped into our water lands causing great illness and diseases to fish and local swimmers.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has put together a guidance document with comprehensive advice and emergency-case analysis providing also methods for assessment of source-water quality. “Risk management can no longer be confined to a single organization or agency; national, regional and local governments, water authorities, water supply agencies and public health authorities all play a role” (Source: http://www.oecdobserver.org/news/fullstory.php/aid/938/The_science_of_clean_water.htm). While conventional methods to detect viruses are constructed on tissue-culture techniques that are daunting and time consuming. Thankfully, to the latest research developments, an apparel of new immunological tools are now available. These new techniques provide faster and more accurate results in order to better identify the origin of microbial contaminants. E. coli one of the most world-know pathogens causes severe bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramps and can create other complications such as kidney failure and other serious illnesses. Last year, over 200 visitors were taken away by a tremendous virus of diarrhea due to the contamination of potable water in Bermuda, caused by “an overflow of the sewerage system” (Source: http://www.bvsde.paho.org/bvsacg/i/fulltext/emerge/emerge.pdf).

A thousand years ago, nobody had the fear that swimming in a lake could cause terrible diseases or health complication. The human race has taken for granted the precious nature of water and people and business often forget that water is not a mere commodity to be exploited in a brutal and careless way; especially because the survival of the human race depends on the quantity of quality water available for consumption. The World Health Organization needs to work more closely with local and federal governments in order to implant strict legislations that will serve to protect water and sanction careless individuals or firms that pollute water in reckless manner.