et al. 2015). Usually, even in urban regions, cases of gastrointestinal diseases due to
drinking water are not well quantified, reasons being surveillance insensitivities and
lack of specific epidemiology studies (Levallois and Villanueva 2019).
A WHO report says that the most waterborne pathogens get introduced into the
human body through drinking water and start infecting the gastrointestinal tract. In
most underdeveloped and developing countries, 75% of the total diseases originated
from water contamination and among them waterborne diarrhea and malaria being
the topmost killers. Currently, approximately 1.1 billion people across the world are
devoid of safe drinking water. Nearly 2.5 billion people live in unhygienic conditions with improper sanitation. Every year nearly 2.2 million deaths occur due to lack
of water hygiene and sanitation-related issues with a yearly loss of more than
80 million years of life expectancy “Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY’s)”
(WHO 2012).
Waterborne diarrhea accounts for 2195 deaths of children in 1 day which is much
higher than deaths occurring due to AIDS, malaria, and measles collectively. It
accounts for 1 in 9 child deaths worldwide, which makes it the 2nd largest killer of
children worldwide. By the end of 2017, nearly 8% of children (under the age of
5 years) were killed by diarrhea (UNICEF 2019). In India, waterborne infections like
diarrhea, cholera, typhoid, malaria, and hepatitis have accounted for 10,738 deaths
in-between 2012–2017 (UNICEF 2019). Of this, acute diarrhea leads the chart
followed by hepatitis, typhoid, and cholera. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2017, data, around the world, at least 219 million cases of malaria
were recorded from 87 countries. More than four million people die every year
because of malaria and the majority of them of children below the age of 5, mainly
belonging to the countries of Africa. India accounts for 4% of the total global malaria
cases. Further, soil-transmitted helminth infestations are one of the most common
diseases worldwide which mostly affect the people living in slums and unhygienic
conditions. Water and soil contamination occur by helminth egg present in human
feces. Few major species are the hookworms (Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator
americanus), the whipworm (Trichuris trichiura), and the roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides). Nearly one-fourth populations of worldwide are infected with
soil-transmitted helminth. Mostly, the people of tropics and subtropics are affected.
water borne disease
water washed
diseases
water scared
diseases
water based
diseases
vector borne
diseases
Fig. 1.1 Classification of
waterborne diseases
1 Microbial Contamination of Drinking Water
3
drinking water are not well quantified, reasons being surveillance insensitivities and
lack of specific epidemiology studies (Levallois and Villanueva 2019).
A WHO report says that the most waterborne pathogens get introduced into the
human body through drinking water and start infecting the gastrointestinal tract. In
most underdeveloped and developing countries, 75% of the total diseases originated
from water contamination and among them waterborne diarrhea and malaria being
the topmost killers. Currently, approximately 1.1 billion people across the world are
devoid of safe drinking water. Nearly 2.5 billion people live in unhygienic conditions with improper sanitation. Every year nearly 2.2 million deaths occur due to lack
of water hygiene and sanitation-related issues with a yearly loss of more than
80 million years of life expectancy “Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY’s)”
(WHO 2012).
Waterborne diarrhea accounts for 2195 deaths of children in 1 day which is much
higher than deaths occurring due to AIDS, malaria, and measles collectively. It
accounts for 1 in 9 child deaths worldwide, which makes it the 2nd largest killer of
children worldwide. By the end of 2017, nearly 8% of children (under the age of
5 years) were killed by diarrhea (UNICEF 2019). In India, waterborne infections like
diarrhea, cholera, typhoid, malaria, and hepatitis have accounted for 10,738 deaths
in-between 2012–2017 (UNICEF 2019). Of this, acute diarrhea leads the chart
followed by hepatitis, typhoid, and cholera. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2017, data, around the world, at least 219 million cases of malaria
were recorded from 87 countries. More than four million people die every year
because of malaria and the majority of them of children below the age of 5, mainly
belonging to the countries of Africa. India accounts for 4% of the total global malaria
cases. Further, soil-transmitted helminth infestations are one of the most common
diseases worldwide which mostly affect the people living in slums and unhygienic
conditions. Water and soil contamination occur by helminth egg present in human
feces. Few major species are the hookworms (Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator
americanus), the whipworm (Trichuris trichiura), and the roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides). Nearly one-fourth populations of worldwide are infected with
soil-transmitted helminth. Mostly, the people of tropics and subtropics are affected.
water borne disease
water washed
diseases
water scared
diseases
water based
diseases
vector borne
diseases
Fig. 1.1 Classification of
waterborne diseases
1 Microbial Contamination of Drinking Water
3