Waterborne Illnesses

Essential for life can turn to become an enemy, when it's quality goes unmonitored.

Most common type of waterborne diseases and mode of transmission are:

1. Typhoid fever = Fecal-oral.

2. Cholera = Fecal-oral.

3. Acute Gastroenteritis=Fecal-oral, person-to-person.

4. Infectious hepatitis=Fecal-oral, person-to-person.

5. Amebiasis=Fecal-oral, person-to-person.

Common symptoms:

1. Diarrhoea 

2. High fever 

3. Vomiting 

4. A headache 

5. Malaise 

6. Nausea 

7. Anorexia [loss of appetite] 

8. Constipation 

9. Abdominal pain 

10. Muscle cramps 

11. Tenesmus [feeling of needing to pass stool] 

12. Dark urine, jaundice, enlarged liver in hepatitis.

Prevention:

1. Hand hygiene practice 

2. Awareness programs and health education related to cleanliness & hygiene 

3. Treatment of carrier individuals 

4. Secure drinking water from contamination 

5. Treatment of surface water 

6. A mass treatment plan to halt epidemic outbreaks.