Diseases, water-related

The water-related or water-associated infectious diseases are typically arranged in four classes from the environmental engineering point of view, although more complex categorizations have also been proposed [14]. These categories are faecal-oral water-borne diseases, water-washed diseases, water-based diseases and diseases transmitted by water-associated insect vectors. Each type has different causes and potential solutions. Too often the term water-borne disease is erroneously used to name all of them without distinction. 

Table 1 Estimated burden of water-related infectious diseases in the world and the Mediterranean region according to the WHO 2004 update [8], It includes... 

Nichols G, Lane C, Asgari N et al (2009) Rainfall and outbreaks of drinking water related disease in England and Wales. J Water Health 7 1-8... 

Gleick PH (2002) Dirty water estimated deaths from water-related diseases 2000-2020. Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment and Security, www.pacinst.org/ reports/ water related deaths /water related deaths report.pdf... 

Ashbolt N, Grabow WOK, Snozzi M (2001) Indicators of microbial water quality. In Fewtrell L, Bartram J (eds) Water quality guidelines standards and health assessment of risk and risk management for water-related infectious disease. IWA Publishing, London, pp 289-316... 

Other problems with ion exchangers include coating of the resin beads or zeolite particles with suspended matter from turbid water (pretreatment with a coagulant may be necessary) or algal growths (chlorination of the water may be required). Zeolites may cause significant silica carryover and should not be used to treat boiler water for steam turbines. Finally, although Ca2+ and Mg2+ are objectionable in boiler or laundry operations, they are necessary nutrients in the human diet. Furthermore, excessive consumption of Na+ can contribute to hypertension and other blood circulatory problems. In Canada, for example, the incidence of heart disease and related health problems is lower in areas where the water supply is... 

Salmonella enterica (S. enterica) is a rod-shaped Gram-negative facultative anaerobe and a prominent enteric bacterial pathogen capable of causing food- and water-related diseases. Several serovars of S. enterica are associated with human infection. The principle clinical diseases associated with Salmonella infection are typhoid fever and gastroenteritis. S. enterica serovars Typhi S. Typhi) and Paratyphi (,S. Paratyphi) are pathogenically exclusive for humans and are known to cause typhoid or enteric fever (Ohl and Miller, 2001). Typhoid fever is a systemic infection characterized by the development of fever, abdominal pain, enterocolitis, and occasionally, a maculopapular rash. The hallmark feature of typhoid fever is the presence of mononuclear cell infiltration and hypertrophy of the intestinal Peyer s patches and mesenteric lymphoidal tissue (Kraus et al., 1999 Ohl and Miller, 2001). There are approximately 20 million cases of typhoid fever worldwide each year, and this acute and often life-threatening infection is responsible for over 200,000 deaths annually (Crump et al., 2004). 

Weiner WJ, Factor SA, Jankovic J, Hauser RA, Tetrud JW, Waters CH, Shulman LM, Glassman PM, Beck B, Paume D, Doyle C. The long-term safety and efficacy of pramipexole in advanced Parkinson s disease. Parkinsonism Relat Disord 2001 7(2) 115-20. 

Disaster events disrupt the integrity of water containment and systems, and contamination can occur. Depending on the location of the disaster, nurses should use one or both of the WHO guidelines and the EPA standards to provide a foundation for assessment of risk and risk management for water-related infectious diseases following a disaster or major public health event. Much of this discussion addresses those parts of the world without an adequate infrastructure, whereas in the United States, nurses will most frequently encounter well water contamination from flooding. 

Note. From the World Health Organization, Water-Related Diseases. Retrieved June 17, 2005 from http //www.who.int/water sanitation health/diseases/trachoma/en/print.html. 

Hopkins, R.S., Heber, S., and Hammond, R. 1997. Water related disease in Florida continuing threats require vigilance. J Florida Med Assoc 84, 441-445. 

Water-related diseases have shown an increasing trend. For example, 72% of all reported cholera cases in the world in 1998 were in Africa. Poor water quality is a key cause of poverty. About 3.1 million people died in 2002 as a result of diarrheal diseases and malaria, 90% of who were children. 

In the Kuttanad, Vembanad and Periyar estuaries in Kerala, industrial and agricultural pollution has initiated major environmental problems including an increased incidence of water-related diseases, aquatic weed growth, and bioaccumulation of toxic residues in human beings [12]. 

The World Health Organization (WHO 2000a) estimates that approximately 3.4 million people - most of whom are children -die annually from water-related diseases, and assumes that water, hygiene and sanitation interventions reduce diarrhea incidence by 26% and mortality by 65%. Therefore, chlorides are more of an essential than a successful tool in relation to water supplies to the public (WHO 2002a). 

As an essential constituent of several important molybdoenzymes. Mo has specific roles in the metabolism of N and S in crop plants. Further studies are needed to determine the detailed structures of these molybdoenzymes and the involvement of different valence states of Mo in their reaction mechanisms. Furthermore, Mo has a wide range of nonspecific effects involving the regulation of many enzymes other than molybdoenzymes, carbohydrate metabolism, reproductive physiology, anion balance, root exudation, plant water relations, and disease incidence in plants. In the future, attempts must be made to understand the precise roles of Mo in DNA stability, protein synthesis, carbohydrate metabolism, plant stress, and disease resistance. Research is also needed on the effects of Mo nutrition on the quality of food grains and vegetable and fruit crops. 

The groundwater should likewise be sampled by strategically placed monitoring wells. Surface water and sediments should also be sampled. Sediments in bogs or intermittent streams may provide useful data. Finally, a health survey of nearby residents should be conducted to determine if there is any elevated incidence of any disease processes related to the hazardous substances found in the sampling. 

In 2010, the United Nations reported that worldwide, annually, 2 million tons of industrial and agricultural waste and sewage are discharged into waterways and more than 1.8 million children under the age of five die from water-related diseases. 

The Protocol on Water and Health sets a number of legal obligations for its 24 participating States (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe/WHO, 2007) in relation to the prevention and control of water-related disease . Article 2(1) defines water-related disease as any significant adverse effects on human health, such as death, disability, illness or disorders, caused directly or indirectly by the condition, or changes in the quantity or quality, of any waters . 

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