Air And Water Borne Diseases

Leptospires are thin, coiled, motile bacteria transmitted to humans by rats, domestic animals, and farm animals. Human exposure usually occurs via environmental exposure but can also occur secondary to direct interaction with animal urine, feces, blood, or tissue. Although unrelated to natural disasters and flooding, in 2003 and 2017, two major outbreaks of hepatitis A occurred. The first happened in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, and was traced back to contaminated green onions served in a Mexican restaurant. The second took place in San Diego and—due to limited sanitation— the risk was pronounced among members of the homeless population. Together these outbreaks resulted in hundreds of hospitalizations and several deaths.



To prevent dysentery, wash your hands with soap frequently, order all drinks without ice, don’t eat food sold by street vendors, and only eat fruits you can peel. Drink only sealed, bottled water while traveling in places with higher dysentery risk, such as communities where proper hygiene practices are uncommon. In some people, leptospirosis causes no symptoms and is thus asymptomatic.

Some hosts such as Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi bacteria can enter our body through unclean drinking water. This can cause Typhoid, which is a form of severe bacterial infection and causes diarrhea, vomiting, fever and jaundice. Human impacts on the environment, including land development and climate change, can contaminate water and decrease the ability of ecosystems and wetlands to naturally filter water.

Our team of medical experts are also experienced in Travel Medicine should you suffer from any illness while travelling or trekking in Nepal. Water-related diseases are highly preventable and can be avoided altogether if proper attention is given. While most strains are harmless, others can make you sick with diarrhea, stomach cramps, and vomiting. Without treatment the disease can lead to kidney damage, meningitis, liver failure, and respiratory distress. It is spread from person-to-person by hand-to-mouth transfer of cysts from the feces of an infected individual.

In cases of severe disease, kidney dysfunction needs to be treated with short-term dialysis. It’s important to treat leptospirosis with antibiotics to prevent organ failure. Patients should be treated as soon as possible before organ failure occurs. Leptospirosis can be treated with a broad range of antibiotics, including, ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, or doxycycline.

This may result in sunken eyes, cold skin, decreased skin elasticity, and wrinkling of the hands and feet. Cholera is caused by a number of types of Vibrio cholerae, with some types producing more severe disease than others. It is spread mostly by water and food that has been Water Crisis in india contaminated with human feces containing the bacteria. Risk factors for the disease include poor sanitation, not enough clean drinking water, and poverty.

Over 286 million Americans get their tap water from a community water system . The US Environmental Protection Agency regulates drinking water quality in public water systems and sets maximum concentration levels for water chemicals and pollutants. There are many parts in the world where waterborne diseases are rampant, deadly, and knowledge about prevention is not widely available.

Please contact the Minnesota Department of Health if you suspect you have a foodborne or waterborne illness. MDH will relay the necessary information to the appropriate local health authorities. Information about waterborne illness outbreaks, including detection and investigation in Minnesota. There is a lot you can do to enjoy water safely – whether you are swimming in it or drinking it. Symptoms and causes of waterborne illnesses and links to disease-specific information.

Avoiding the water clogging (e.g., from rain) surrounding the houses is an important step to prevent water-borne diseases. Water-borne diseases are the ones caused by pathogenic microbes spread via contaminated water. Anyone with a diarrheal illness should avoid swimming in public pools or lakes, sharing baths with others, and preparing food for others.