Water-related infections
Water related infections are transmitted by water through following routes:
Water-borne: When the pathogen is ingested by a person drinking water, this is called water-borne transmission. One important control strategy is providing good quality of drinking water.
Water-washed: Water-washed route is related to the quantity of water. Good personal and domestic hygiene requires the availability and use of water for bathing, clothes washing and utensil washing.
Water-based: A water based disease is one, whose pathogens spend part of their lifecycle in the water, usually in a snail or other aquatic animals. The water-based diseases are all caused by parasitic worms. pathogens usually enter the water from faeces and urine of infected persons.
Water related insect vector: in this transmission mechanism insects, which breed in water or bite near water, spread diseases.
Table 1 shows types of water-related transmission route for infections, causes and the control strategies..
Transmission Route
Diseases
Control
Water borne
Cholera
Typhoid
Dysenteries
Diarrhoeas
Infectious hepatitis
Improve drinking water quality.
Prevent use of other contaminated sources.
Water washed
Skin and eye infections
Louse borne typhus
Increase quantity and use of water.
Improve personal hygiene by increasing accessibility and availability of water.
Water based
Schistosomiasis (penetrating skin)
Guinea worm (ingested)
Decrease contact with contaminated water in the Environment.
Control appropriate aquatic animals.
Reduce excreta contamination of surface water.
Water related insect vector
Yellow fever
River blindness
Malaria
Sleeping sickness
Eliminate breeding sites by improving
Drainage.
Keep people away from the breeding or biting sites.
Use mosquito netting.
Table 1: Water-related infection: transmission and control strategy (Carincross and Feachem, 1993
Infectious diseases (1/6)
Infectious diseases (1/6)