Home Kitchen garden on the windowsill Non-communicable waterborne diseases. Water as a way of transmission of infectious diseases. The entry of pathogenic microorganisms into water and their survival in the aquatic environment

Kitchen garden on the windowsill

Non-communicable waterborne diseases. Water as a way of transmission of infectious diseases. The entry of pathogenic microorganisms into water and their survival in the aquatic environment

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 80% of all diseases on earth are caused by polluted water or lack of basic hygiene conditions.

According to UN statistics, three out of five people in developing countries lack clean water, and three out of four live in hazardous, appalling unsanitary conditions. As of 1980, 1 billion 320 million people are deprived of clean drinking water, and 1 billion 700 million are deprived of a sewerage system. In those areas where these problems have been resolved, the health status of the population has improved significantly, and infant mortality has decreased.

The UN has embarked on a critical event aimed at ensuring that by 1990 all people on earth have clean water and good sanitation and hygiene.

The idea of holding a "drinking water decade" originated at the 1976 UN conference on human settlements in Vancouver, Canada, and received widespread support. A number of UN bodies then carried out preparatory work in cooperation with financial institutions, various organizations and the governments of the countries concerned.

2 waterborne diseases

Many infectious diseases are transmitted through water: typhoid fever, dysentery, cholera, etc. Infection is the interaction of pathogenic microorganisms with other organisms under certain environmental conditions, which may result in an infectious disease. Pathogenicity is the potential ability of certain types of microorganisms to cause an infectious process. Pathogenic microbes are characterized by specificity, i.e. each microbe is capable of causing a certain infectious process. However, the possibility of the occurrence and the nature of the development of the process, its severity, duration, outcome largely depend not so much on the microbe as on the degree of reactivity and resistance of the human or animal organism.

Pathogenic microbes can be found in the body of a healthy person without causing the development of the disease. It has been proven that malnutrition, the effects of cold, alcohol, physical overwork, etc. contribute to the occurrence of an infectious disease. Many pathogenic microorganisms produce enzymes that can destroy tissues and cells in the body. As a result, the penetration of microorganisms into the attacked organism increases.

The most important feature of pathogenic microbes is their toxicity. Distinguish between exotoxins and endotoxins. Exotoxins are poisons that easily diffuse into the environment. Endotoxins are firmly bound to the body of the microbial cell and are released only after it dies. The action of exotoxins is specific, i.e. they affect certain organs and tissues. For example, tetanus exotoxin causes damage to the nervous system, as a result of which the patient experiences muscle spasm; diphtheria affects the cardiovascular system, adrenal glands. If microbial exotoxins, being very strong poisons, have a detrimental effect on the body even in very small doses, then endotoxins are less toxic, do not have strict specificity, and cause general signs of poisoning in the body: headache, weakness, shortness of breath. Endotoxins consist of polysaccharides and lipoproteins, while exotoxins are of a protein nature.

Infectious diseases differ from non-infectious ones not only in their origin, but also in their course and clinical signs. There are the following periods of the course of the infectious process: incubation (hidden); period of precursors (prodromal); the period of the highest development of the disease (acme period); the outcome of the disease is recovery, transition to a chronic state, death.

An epidemic (a mass disease in humans) occurs when there is an epidemic chain consisting of three links: the source of infection, transmission routes of infection and the susceptibility of the population to this disease. The source of infection can be a sick person, animal, or bacilli carriers. The carrier of the bacillus is a healthy organism, which microbes do not harm, but, developing in it, are released into the external environment. Infectious diseases are transmitted in different ways: through food, air, insects, through contact with a patient, and including through water. This happens when drinking, bathing, washing dishes, vegetables, fruits, etc. The development of the epidemic depends on the susceptibility of the population and animals to this type of disease. Improving the living conditions of people, their accuracy, the implementation of preventive measures, the identification of bacilli-carriers - all this limits the possibility of the spread of diseases.

A variety of microbes can accidentally appear in the water, but they can live in it for a long time, as numerous studies of scientists have shown, which only cause cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery and other gastrointestinal diseases. The duration of their storage in water is different. Cholera pathogens can persist in water from several days to several months. Dysentery sticks can stay in tap water for up to 27 days. The causative agents of typhoid fever remain viable in water for up to three months. Especially often, the transmission of acute intestinal infections is observed when using contaminated drinking water, but infection is also possible when using water for household needs.

2.1 Salmonellosis... In humans, salmonellosis most often presents as acute gastroenteritis with diarrhea and cramping abdominal pain. Additional symptoms of gastroenteritis include fever, nausea, and vomiting. The detection rate of human salmonellosis, even seasonal, is quite low. In the absence of significant outbreaks, the average number of individuals shedding Salmonella is believed to range from 1% in the US and UK to 3% in Austria and 3.9% in Ceylon. Since these figures represent the entire population of a given country, negative results can be expected when tested for the presence of Salmonella in wastewater from a small number of people. Since other pathogenic bacteria may be present in this contaminated water in the absence of Salmonella, a negative Salmonella test should not indicate the presence or absence of other pathogenic microorganisms.

The total number of salmonella serotypes pathogenic for humans exceeds several hundred, and the frequency of their isolation from humans in different countries is different and varies from year to year. So, for example, in 1965 in the United States, the following 10 serotypes of Salmonella were most often isolated from people: S. typhimurium, S. heidelberg, S. newport, S. infantis, S. enteritidis, S. saint-paul, S. typhi, S. derby, S. oranienburg and S. thompson. In Denmark, from 1960 to 1968, the following serotypes were most frequently identified: S. typhimurium, S. paratyphi B, S. enteritidis, S. newport, S. typhi, S. infantis, S. indiana, S. rnontevideo, S . blockley and S. muenchen. Human salmonellosis may not be the most serious waterborne disease, but its pathogens are most easily isolated from water, food, and feces and associated with indicator bacteria.

A living organism cannot exist without food and water. This fact is known to everyone. But what to do when life itself is threatened, if you drink dirty water or swim in it?

Doctors try to answer this question with recommendations on how to protect themselves from infection through water. But the possibility of infection depends not only on the person, but also on the communications through which water is transported to apartments and houses. Water often enters homes with a pre-defined set of unwanted microorganisms. The reservoirs in which you have to swim in summer are not always cleared of dirt. Naturally, you can get infected not only while drinking water, but also when processing vegetables or fruits, while washing your hands. Possible places of infection are a pool, a lake, a river, even the sea, an apartment, a summer house and a house. What diseases transmitted through water threaten a deterioration in well-being and health, up to a lethal outcome, read this article.

Ways of infection from water

The quality of water supplied to apartments and houses depends on special services that purify and filter drinking water, as well as on services that control the presence of pathogenic organisms in the water. In addition, when treated water moves through old pipes, through the thin walls of which sewage with a huge amount of microbes can seep, it can also lead to poisoning and infection.

In summer, recreation near water bodies is popular, especially urban ones - rivers, lakes, reservoirs. In them, water almost does not circulate and stagnates, which further aggravates the pollution situation. If you swallow this water, you can easily catch a sore. Waterborne infectious diseases are very difficult to cure, some of them are so severely affecting the body that they lead to death.

According to statistics, four out of five diseases are partially or completely related to water, drinking or bathing. Diarrhea is the leading cause of death.

It is horrifying that more than 1.1 billion people simply do not have the opportunity to use clean drinking water. They have nothing left to do, how to use it for all needs and drink ordinary water from a reservoir, without purification and disinfection. More than 2 billion people worldwide die each year from waterborne infections.

Among other things, even in the pool, you can become infected with many ailments, feeling not only all the benefits of swimming, but also add health problems. This is why people are reluctant to take risks and do not go to the pool for swimming, so as not to undermine their health even more.

Waterborne diseases

The list of waterborne diseases is enormous. We provide data only for those diseases that are the most common.

Waterborne diseases:

ascariasis;
botulism;
anemia;
cholera;
diarrhea;
campylobacteriosis;
Dengue fever;
fluorosis;
cyanobacterial toxin;
hepatitis E and A (Botkin's disease);
malaria;
Japanese encephalitis;
legionellosis;
trachoma;
lead poisoning;
giardiosis;
schistosomiasis.

Water becomes contaminated after wastewater gets into reservoirs with purified water. This can happen due to a malfunction of the system or after a flood, when the water level rises strongly, sweeping away everything in its path. It also happens that the infection gets from a source of drinking water and retains its viability even after passing through filters and cleansing procedures. The resistance of pathogenic microorganisms is increasing every day, so today doctors recommend purifying and filtering water from the water supply so as not to get infected.

In addition to direct contamination through water after drinking, you can become infected by washing fruits or vegetables with dirty water or not washing your hands thoroughly after hygiene, for example.

How to protect yourself from waterborne contamination

To protect yourself from infection and prevent the spread of diseases from water, you must:

perform all water procedures correctly,
be sure to wash your hands with soap,
wash vegetables and fruits thoroughly under running water to remove all dust,
use only purified water;
keep dishes and all kitchen utensils clean;
do not use water alone for washing hands, dishes and food.

Waterborne diseases cause significant damage to health, so you should be careful about water procedures, do not visit polluted water bodies, and protect children from bathing in dirty water. The child's body is especially sensitive to infections and poisoning of various kinds, it is difficult to tolerate such diseases and it takes a long time to rehabilitate after that.

For a person, water is an obligatory component of the body, of which it consists of 65-70%. With dehydration of the body, the state of health worsens + the processes of decay of tissue protein intensify + the water-salt balance is disturbed + efficiency, the activity of the nervous and cardiovascular systems decreases. With a loss of 10% of water, there is a sharp anxiety, weakness, trembling of the limbs. Death occurs at 20-22%. Depending on the ambient temperature, a person can live without water for 4-6 days (there is no longer any hope of finding living in the rubble of houses). It is necessary to consume at least 1.5–2 liters of liquid per day. Unfortunately, most people do not use this rate, from which they suffer from chronic constipation, headaches, yellow skin, premature aging.

Water is indispensable for recreational activities: when bathing, the body is hardened and muscles are trained.

For your information: on average, the human body contains up to 50 liters of water Distribution of water through individual tissues: in bones - 30%, cartilage - 60%, liver - 70%, muscles - 75%, brain - 79%, kidneys - 83%. The richer an organ is in water, the more intensive the metabolism in it. The least water-poor is the skull. The eye is almost entirely water. With age, the amount of water in the body decreases: at the 3rd month of uterine life - 94%, at birth - 69%, at 20 years old - 62%, old age - 58%. A dry Egyptian mummy weighs about 8 kg.

Water is also the main element in food products: in bread - up to 40%, eggs - up to 65%, meat - 75%, fish - 80%, milk - 87% and vegetables - 90%.

WHO experts have established that 80% of all diseases in the world are associated with unsatisfactory drinking water quality and violations of sanitary and hygienic water supply standards.

Human diseases that are associated with water are classified into four types:

diseases caused by water contaminated with pathogens (typhoid, cholera, dysentery, poliomyelitis, gastroenteritis, VIRAL hepatitis A);
diseases of the skin and mucous membranes that occur when using contaminated water for washing (from trachoma to leprosy);
diseases caused by molluscs living in water (schistosomiasis and rishta);
diseases caused by insects that live and reproduce in water - vectors of infection (malaria, yellow fever, etc.).

For the occurrence of these diseases, the following are favorable:

unorganized water consumption;
appropriate natural conditions for the spread and survival of the infectious principle in the environment;
technical violations at water intake, water treatment facilities and water pipelines;
accidents at sewage and treatment facilities;
discharge of untreated wastewater into water bodies;
non-observance of elementary norms of personal hygiene.

Cholera is traditionally considered the most dangerous intestinal disease of water origin. This disease covers vast areas, affecting the population of entire countries and continents. Due to the severity of the clinical course and the tendency towards a pandemic spread, cholera is a particularly dangerous infection.

In some cases, drinking water is involved in the transmission of colienteritis, a disease caused by enteropathogenic E. coli. Outbreaks of these diseases are typical for young children who are in closed groups (orphanages, nurseries, kindergartens), where basic rules of personal hygiene are not observed.

Many viral diseases are spread by water. These are infectious hepatitis A (Botkin's disease), poliomyelitis, adenovirus and enterovirus infections. The hepatitis A virus is more resistant to environmental factors than the causative agents of bacterial intestinal infections. The virus retains pathogenicity after freezing for 2 years, is resistant to most disinfectants and dies when boiled only after 30-60 minutes. In this regard, standard methods of water purification and disinfection are not always effective enough against hepatitis A virus, and colibacterial indicators may not reflect real contamination by viruses.

Outbreaks of epidemics can be caused by accidents at sewage and treatment facilities.

Outbreaks of epidemic hepatitis A are more common in those settlements where shallow surface sources are used for domestic purposes, and adequate attention is not paid to water disinfection.

In countries with hot climates, there are diseases related to leptospirosis. These are Weil-Vasiliev's disease (icterohemorrhagic leptospirosis) and water fever (anicteric leptospirosis). The carriers of the infection are most often rodents, sometimes cattle, pigs. A person becomes infected through the water of stagnant reservoirs (lakes, ponds, swamps) and ground wells; contaminated with animal secretions. The causative agents of infection enter the body through the gastrointestinal tract, as well as through the bathing through the mucous membranes of the lips, mouth, nose and damaged skin.

Schistosomal dermatitis (bather's itch) is ubiquitous. Recently, in connection with bathing in stagnant and low-flowing, feces-polluted reservoirs, cases of such dermatitis have been noted in Russian cities, especially in children. The main host in whose body schistosomes of this species reach sexual maturity are domestic and wild ducks. The intermediate host is a freshwater mollusk. The larvae of schistosomes, being freed from the mollusc, are introduced into the human epidermis when bathing, causing severe itching, swelling and rashes. Repeated cases of infection are especially difficult due to severe sensitization of the body. However, the full cycle of development in the human body does not pass and the helminth dies, so the duration of the disease ranges from several hours to 2 weeks.

Memo for the population. What infections are transmitted by water

The relationship between the incidence of the population and the nature of water consumption has long been noted. Drinking clean water is beneficial for the body, but it can also pose a danger to humans if it contains pathogenic microorganisms that cause infectious diseases.

The following are transmitted by water: cholera, typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever, dysentery, leptospirosis, tularemia (contamination of drinking water with secretions of rodents), brucellosis, salmonellosis.

Among viral diseases transmitted by water, the prevailing place is occupied by the intestinal group of viruses, including enteroviruses, hepatitis A and many others.

Water infections are characterized by:

1) Sudden rise and high incidence rate;

2) Rapid spread of diseases.

Preventive measures for waterborne diseases:

Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water and do this as often as possible.
Use only boiled or bottled water for drinking.
Observe the rules of storage and preparation of food.
Eat thermally processed foods.
Observe the rules of personal hygiene.
Process vegetables and fruits with boiled water.
Do not swim in polluted waters.
Timeliness of vaccination.

Department of Medical Prevention

The relationship between the incidence of the population and the water factor has long been noticed. The water factor is extremely important in the spread of acute intestinal infections and invasions. Salmonella, shigella, leptospira, Escherichia coli, Pasteurella, vibrios, mycobacteria, enteroviruses and adenoviruses, as well as lamblia cysts, ascaris and whipworm eggs, hookworm larvae, schistosomiasis pathogens, etc. may be present in the water of water sources.

Natural water bodies are not a natural habitat for pathogenic microorganisms. Pathogenic microflora, as a rule, dies off within a certain time. However, some pathogenic microorganisms can persist for a long time and even multiply in natural water. The duration of survival of pathogenic microorganisms in water depends on the composition of water, the presence and concentration of a biological substrate, on the properties of microbial cells (the ability to spore, a high content of lipids in the bacterial cell, etc.), as well as the temperature of the water, the intensity of insolation and other factors (from 3 up to 180 days).

A source of contamination of surface water bodies may appear untreated sewage wastewater. Underground springs become infected atmospheric and storm water, the contents of improperly equipped cesspools, as well as when washing clothes at wells and parsing water with contaminated buckets.

The epidemiological danger of drinking water depends on the presence and quantity of the pathogen, the duration of its survival and its persistence of virulence.

The combination of these conditions determines the possibility of spreading intestinal infections by water in the form of epidemic outbreaks and maintaining a high level of infectious diseases. This applies to such common infections as typhoid fever, dysentery, and cholera, which periodically gets the opportunity to go far beyond its endemic focus.

Epidemic (from Greek - general disease) - a category of intensity of the epidemic process, characterized by the incidence of a certain infectious disease, significantly exceeding those usually recorded in a given territory for a similar period of time.

For waterborne epidemics it is considered characteristic of a sudden rise in the incidence, maintaining a high level over time, limiting the epidemic outbreak to the circle of people using a common source of water supply, and the absence of diseases among residents of the same settlement, but using a different source of water supply.

Water flash characterized by a rapid decrease in the number of victims after a complex of anti-epidemic measures, however, then, over a rather long period, individual contact cases of diseases are recorded in the form of the so-called "Epidemic tail".

At present, half of the world's population - about 2 billion people - is deprived of the opportunity to consume sufficient amounts of clean fresh water. 61% of rural residents in developing countries cannot use epidemiologically safe water, and only 13% of them are provided with sewerage systems. However, in the economically developed countries of Europe, the USA, local epidemic outbreaks of intestinal infections are recorded.

A classic example of a water epidemic is the cholera epidemic in Hamburg. Hamburg and Alton are two border towns. Residents of Hamburg received tap water without purification and disinfection. The number of cases in Hamburg was up to 1000 every day. Residents of Altona received purified water from coastal wells, therefore, only isolated contact cases of cholera were observed among them.

The decrease in the incidence of intestinal infections in the population is largely associated with progress in the field of water supply to the population. L.V. Gromashevsky pointed out that, according to his observations, vaccinations, which are a specific means of combating typhoid fever, reduced the incidence of typhoid fever by 5-8 times only among the vaccinated, while rational water supply reduced the incidence of typhoid fever in the entire population of European countries by 8-12 times. Thus, a properly organized water supply is not only an important measure providing a high level of sanitary culture, but also a very effective specific measure against the spread of intestinal infections among the population.

Endemic focus cholera at present are the regions of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers in India and Pakistan. Over the past decades, mortality from cholera has decreased significantly, because Asiatic cholera is gradually being replaced by cholera caused by biotype A, vibrio El Tor... Vibrion El-Tor causes less severe clinical forms of the disease, but persists for a longer time in the environment, which increases its epidemic danger. The spread of cholera in recent years was associated with an imperfect organization of water supply, violations of international quarantine rules, increased migration of people, the carriage of Vibrio cholerae (healthy carriers of the El Tor biotype - from 9.5 to 25%), as well as the rapid transportation of contaminated products and water by water and by air.

The waterway of distribution is especially characteristic for typhoid fever... Typhoid bacillus remains in running water for up to 7-10 days, well - for up to 1 month or more; in ice - up to 2 months. Before the introduction of centralized water supplies, waterborne epidemics of typhoid fever were common in cities in Europe and America. In less than 100 years (from 1845 to 1933), 124 waterborne outbreaks of typhoid fever were recorded in Western Europe, 42 of them occurring in a centralized water supply (71,953 cases of the disease), and 39 epidemics (29,623 cases of the disease).

Major waterborne epidemics of typhoid fever took place in Rostov-on-Don in 1927 (as a result of a breakthrough of sewage into the water supply network) and Krasnodar in 1928.

Paratyphoid waterborne epidemics as independent ones, they are extremely rare and usually accompany typhoid epidemics.

For a long time it was believed that dysentery can be distributed exclusively by alimentary or contact routes. However, a significant number of epidemics of dysentery were also reported in connection with the use of poor quality drinking water.

Along with small outbreaks, large water epidemics are also known. bacillary dysentery in the USA (1926) and Japan (1937). Outbreaks of dysentery are the result of a breakdown in water treatment systems, pollution of wells with flood waters, and the ingress of wastewater into the water supply network.

Epidemic outbreaks are often the harbingers of waterborne epidemics of typhoid fever. colienteritis among children and adults. Their causative agents are enteropathogenic Escherichia coli... Outbreaks caused by the use of water containing pathogenic E. coli of various serotypes have been reported in the United States (1968-1969); Sweden (1965); Hungary (1959); USSR (1968) and other countries.

Waterborne infections include icteric(Vasiliev-Weil disease) and anicteric leptospirosis and tularemia.

Icteric leptospirosis, or icterohemorrhagic leptospirosis, occurs in various countries of the world, especially in East and Southeast Asia, etc. A person is more likely to become infected as a result of swimming in polluted water bodies or through contact with polluted water (during summer field work), although water drinking epidemics of leptospirosis. Leptospira carriers are rodents (38.9%), pigs, dogs (16.6%), cattle (2.3%). Epidemic outbreaks occur in the summer-autumn period, when human contact with contaminated water increases.

Water flares tularemia occur when water sources (wells, streams, rivers) are contaminated with the secretions of sick rodents during the period of tularemia epizootics. The disease is more common among agricultural workers who consume water from polluted rivers and small streams. Epidemics of tularemia are also known when using tap water as a result of violation of the regime of its purification and disinfection.

The waterway of distribution is also typical for brucellosis, anthrax, erysipeloid, tuberculosis, Far East scarlet fever and other anthropozoonotic infections.

Drinking and bathing water can be the source of most viral infections... To date, a number of observations on the importance of the water factor in the distribution infectious hepatitis, polio and others enterovirus and adenovirus infections indicates that the main reservoir of intestinal viruses in the environment is feces and household waste water contaminated by them.

The possibility of transmission of viruses by water is best demonstrated by the example of pathogens infectious hepatitis... Such outbreaks were observed in the USA (1956), Australia (1956), India and Austria. The largest waterborne epidemic of infectious hepatitis was recorded in 1955-1956. in Delhi (India), where about 29,000 people were ill. The epidemic was caused by sewage pollution of tap water. The epidemic in Delhi has shown that the hepatitis virus is more resistant to disinfectants than E. coli, therefore purification (coagulation, filtration) and disinfection of water are not guarantors of the epidemiological well-being of water. The largest number of outbreaks of infectious hepatitis is associated with decentralized water supply, when the population consumes water directly from wells or open water bodies without purification and disinfection. But in settlements with a centralized water supply system, there can be epidemics of hepatitis of a water nature due to insufficient water purification and the extraordinary resistance of the pathogen to chlorine.

The water factor also plays a certain role in the transmission enteroviral infections pathogens, which are polioviruses, Coxsackie viruses and ECHO... Water flares polio were observed in Sweden (1939 1949), Germany (1965), India (1968), RF (1959, 1965-1966) and caused by the use of well water and water from open reservoirs for drinking, intensely polluted with untreated sewage waters.

Acute intestinal diseases of aquatic etiology, the so-called epidemics, deserve special attention in connection with the use of substandard water for drinking. viral diarrhea or gastroenteritis... During 1946-1960. In the United States, 142 epidemics of gastroenteritis and diarrheal diseases were reported, affecting 18,790 people. According to WHO, viral diarrhea is the cause of death for up to 6 million children and 18 million adults each year in developing countries.

Outbreaks linked to swimming in swimming pools pharyngoconjunctival fever, conjunctivitis, rhinitis, while from the water of swimming pools were allocated adenoviruses and viruses ECHO 3 and 11... There have been 44 cases serous meningitis caused by the ECHO 9 virus when swimming in a pond.

Fecal water pollution is a source of transmission amoebiasis... Amoeba was isolated from untreated and treated wastewater, water from open reservoirs. In clean water, its cysts remain viable for up to 153 days. The degree of carriage among the population depends on the economic level of the country and is the highest in the developing countries of Asia and Africa - 16-17%.

Cysts may be present in the water lamblia, their carriage is widespread throughout the world and reaches 20% in some areas. The use of water containing lamblia cysts can cause intestinal upset in the form of prolonged intermittent diarrhea.

Water plays a certain role in the spread of helminthiases - ascariasis, schistosomiasis, dracunculiasis and etc.

Schistosomiasis- a disease in which helminths live in the venous system. The migration of this blood fluke to the liver and bladder can be severe. Infection occurs in rice fields, when swimming in shallow water bodies, rivers, lakes, the water of which is contaminated with the larval stage of helminths. The larva enters the human body through intact skin.

"Scabies of swimmers"- a skin disease, the infection of which occurs when swimming in water sources with low-flow water, where infected snails live - the intermediate hosts of the worm. Schistosomiasis became widespread due to the construction of irrigation canals. According to the WHO, this helminth annually affects about 200 million people in the world, mainly the population of Africa, Asia, Latin America.

Dracunculiasis (Rishta)- helminthiasis, occurring with lesions of the skin, subcutaneous fatty tissue, a pronounced allergic component. Infection occurs when using water containing infected crustaceans - cyclops. The disease has been eliminated on the territory of the USSR; distributed in Africa and India. The spread of the disease in these countries is facilitated by a special method of taking water from water sources, in which a person is forced to go barefoot into the water, as well as ritual ablutions.

There are a number of diseases in developing countries, in which contaminated water also plays a major role in the transmission. Oncocerciasis (filariasis) - helminthiasis, transmitted through the bites of insects, which are carriers of this disease and reproduce in polluted river water. According to the WHO, currently 30 million people suffer from this disease, mainly in Africa, South and Central America.

Epidemic described ascariasis, which struck 90% of the population of one of the cities of Germany.

WHO experts have established that 80% of all diseases in the world are associated with unsatisfactory drinking water quality and violations of sanitary and hygienic water supply standards.

Human diseases that are associated with water are classified into four types:

· Diseases caused by water contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms (typhoid, cholera, dysentery, poliomyelitis, gastroenteritis, VIRAL hepatitis A);

· Diseases of the skin and mucous membranes that occur when using contaminated water for washing (from trachoma to leprosy);

· Diseases caused by molluscs living in water (schistosomiasis and rishta);

· Diseases caused by insects that live and reproduce in water - vectors of infection (malaria, yellow fever, etc.).

For the occurrence of these diseases, the following are favorable:

· Unorganized water consumption;

· Insufficient amount of water;

· Appropriate natural conditions for the spread and survival of the infectious principle in the environment;

· Technical violations at water intake, water treatment facilities and water pipelines;

· Accidents at sewage and treatment facilities;

· Discharge of untreated waste water into water bodies;

· Non-observance of elementary standards of personal hygiene.

Cholera is traditionally considered the most dangerous intestinal disease of water origin. This disease covers vast areas, affecting the population of entire countries and continents. Due to the severity of the clinical course and the tendency towards a pandemic spread, cholera is a particularly dangerous infection.

Since 1961, there has been an intensification of the epidemic process of cholera.

Large waterborne outbreaks of cholera were in St. Petersburg in 1908-1909 and in 1918, when the polluted water from the Neva got into the water supply network and the chlorination of water was disrupted. In recent years, only a few "imported" cases of cholera have been reported in Russia.

High morbidity and mortality are also characteristic of typhoid fever and paratyphoid A and B. The causative agents of these diseases are microbes of the genus Salmonella of the family of intestinal bacteria, which are very resistant to external influences. The death of microorganisms is accelerated with increasing ambient temperature. So, in cold clean water, typhus pathogens persist for up to 1.5 years, withstand freezing for several months and can overwinter in ice ... They are viable in tap water for up to 3 months.., and in the water of open reservoirs - up to 12 days.

In Russia, typhoid fever epidemics in different years also covered a significant part of the population. ... The sad primacy in this respect belonged to St. Petersburg where, when using contaminated water due to violations of the water supply network, at the beginning of the 20th century, about 1000 people died annually. However, even in modern conditions, there are some outbreaks of typhoid fever.

In some cases drinking water is involved in the transmission of colienteritis- diseases caused by enteropathogenic E. coli. Outbreaks of these diseases are typical for young children who are in closed groups (orphanages, nurseries, kindergartens), where basic rules of personal hygiene are not observed.

Many viral diseases are spread by water... These are infectious hepatitis (Botkin's disease), poliomyelitis, adenovirus and enteroviral infections. The hepatitis virus is more resistant to environmental factors than the causative agents of bacterial intestinal infections. The virus remains pathogenic after freezing for 2 years, is resistant to most disinfectants, and dies after boiling only after 30-60 minutes. In this regard, standard methods of water purification and disinfection are not always effective enough against the hepatitis virus, and colibacterial indicators may not reflect the actual contamination by viruses. Outbreaks of epidemics can be caused by accidents at sewage and treatment facilities.

Outbreaks of epidemic hepatitis occur more often in those settlements where shallow surface sources are used for household purposes, and adequate attention is not paid to water disinfection.

According to a number of authors, the transmission of tuberculosis pathogens through water is possible, although the water route of infection is not considered the main one for this infection. The most massive influx of tuberculosis bacteria into water bodies is associated with the discharge of untreated wastewater from tuberculosis hospitals.

The waterway of transmission of such a dangerous disease as polio... Waterborne outbreaks of poliomyelitis have been reported in many countries around the world. It should also be borne in mind that enteroviruses and adenoviruses can spread by water, causing severe damage to the intestines, central nervous system, skin and mucous membranes in humans. Prevention of viral diseases is complicated by the lack of sufficiently reliable methods for isolating viruses from various environments of the biosphere.

In countries with hot climates, there are diseases related to kleptospirosis. These are Weil-Vasiliev's disease (ictero-hemorrhagic leptospirosis) and water fever (anicteric leptospirosis). The carriers of the infection are most often rodents, sometimes cattle, pigs. A person becomes infected through the water of stagnant reservoirs (lakes, ponds, swamps) and ground wells; contaminated with animal secretions. The causative agents of infection enter the body through the gastrointestinal tract, as well as when swimming through the mucous membranes of the lips, mouth, nose and damaged skin.

Some types of bacterial zoonotic infections have a waterway. Sources of pathogens can be rodents (tularemia) or cattle (brucellosis, anthrax). The pathogen can enter the body both through the gastrointestinal tract and through the skin. According to a number of authors, waterborne transmission of tuberculosis pathogens is possible, although the water route of infection is not considered the main one for this infection. The most massive influx of tuberculosis bacteria into water bodies is associated with the discharge of untreated wastewater from tuberculosis hospitals.

Protozoal invasions, i.e. diseases caused by protozoa occur mainly in the hot climates of Asia and Africa. Severe forms of diseases are relatively rare, although carriage, depending on sanitary well-being, can exceed 15%. These are amoebiasis or amoebic dysentery caused by Eniamoeba hislolytica, balantidiasis caused by Balantidium coli infusoria, and giardiasis caused by the flagellate Lamblia intestinalis. Amoebiasis and balantidiasis develop as acute diseases, turning into a chronic form, accompanied by diarrhea, when protozoa enter with drinking water and their introduction into the mucous membrane of the large intestine. Sometimes diseases become protracted, recurrent. Giardia does not cause disorders of the intestinal mucosa, therefore, the disease does not have a clear clinical picture. Abdominal pain and dyspeptic disorders are noted, but more often giardiasis remains asymptomatic. Carriage of lamblia among the population is very high and averages about 15%, and in children's groups with unfavorable hygienic conditions it exceeds 30-40%.

A documentary on catastrophic environmental pollution

A documentary film about the catastrophic pollution of the environment, about how humans, pets, birds with their feces cause diseases such as typhus, smallpox, AIDS, hepatitis. Outside cities where there are no sewage treatment plants, sewage gets into the ground - drinking water is contaminated even in deep wells, in which viruses, bacteria and heavy metals. The famous actress, businessman, living in the suburbs, consume poisons and microbes through the water. The water looks like chemical warfare agents. Humanity consumes tons of drugs, which again get to a person through feces and water. Female hormones, through hormonal drugs in drinking water - one of the reasons why men change their sexual orientation, the desire for a woman, which was laid by mother nature, disappears. Children in the sandbox can easily get infected. It is necessary to increase the body's immunity by natural means of NSP.