Personal hygiene is important – wash your hands regularly.
Prevention of water-washed diseases
• Follow the prevention methods for waterborne diseases,
described above. However, after adding bleach to untreated
water, leave it to stand for at least an hour before drinking.
• Practice regular washing of hands, especially after using the
toilet; proper hygiene during food preparation; cleaning of soiled
clothes with hot water; adequate waste disposal; and fly control.
• Wash and peel fruit and vegetables before eating them.
WATERBORNE AND WATER-WASHED DISEASES
These diseases can be transmitted either through drinking
untreated water, or as a result of poor hygiene.
•
•
•
Cryptosporidiosis
Cryptosporidiosis is an infection caused by ingesting the
parasite Cryptosporidium parvum. However, person-to-person
contact and animals serving as reservoirs may also spread
the disease. It is characterised by diarrhoea, stomach pains,
and sometimes, vomiting and fever. Healthy individuals
generally recover within two weeks, but the infection can
be life-threatening for those infected with HIV. Treatment is
largely symptomatic and therefore includes antidiarrhoeal
drugs and rehydration therapy.
Giardiasis
Giardiasis is an infection caused by the parasite Giardia
lamblia and is characterised by diarrhoea and stomach
cramps. Infection occurs through contaminated drinking
water as a result of poor sanitation and hygiene, or via
person-to-person contact. The disease is easily treated with
prescription medicines that destroy the parasite.
Shigellosis
Shigellosis is caused by Shigella dysentery and other Shigella
species. It is characterised by abdominal pain and diarrhoea
(stools are often accompanied by mucous and blood). In severe
cases, dehydration, as a result of the diarrhoea in conjunction
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HEALTH AND SANITATION
31
It is important to
boil water before
using it for cooking
or drinking.
with decreased urine production, can cause kidney
failure. The disease is spread via close person-to-person
contact, by contaminated food or water, as well as via
the faecal-oral route. To treat it, rehydration is necessary.
Hospitalisation is required in rare cases when kidney
failure or severe rectal bleeding occurs.
Prevention of waterborne and waster-washed diseases
1. Boil the water for at least five minutes, and filter it with
a very fine filter (0.1 to 1.0 micrometres)
2. Practice regular washing of hands, especially
after using the toilet; proper hygiene during food
preparation; cleaning of soiled clothes with hot water;
adequate waste disposal; and fly control
3. Always use clean drinking containers.
OTHER WATER-RELATED DISEASES
• Legionnaires’ disease
Legionnaires’ disease is most often contracted by inhaling
water droplets that contain a bacterium called Legionella
pneumophila. Once these bacteria reach the lungs and
settle there, their hosts begin to suffer energy-loss,
headaches, nausea, muscle aches, fever, and chest pains.
Most healthy people will easily fight off the infection.
However, the disease can be fatal for the elderly and those
that have compromised immune systems.
The bacterium responsible for legionnaires’ disease
is most common in the workplace, in industrial
cooling water systems,