Water-borne Diseases
By Dr Arvind Kumar
Water-borne diseases have claimed heavy toll of human lives. Several hundred deaths have been reported in the last three years in the country, due to diseases caused by consumption of unsafe and contaminated water. Contaminated water can cause Acute Diarrhoeal Diseases (ADD), Viral Hepatitis, Cholera and Typhoid (Enteric Fever). According to the information made available recently by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Affairs, of the 21,12,308 cases detected in Karnataka alone, 257 people had died due to these diseases in that state during 2009, 2010 and 2011. Of this, three people died due to cholera out of the 610 cases detected during the three years. Andhra Pradesh saw four deaths out of 715 cases, while two died in Tamil Nadu out of 1,308 cases. Kerala saw three deaths, out of the 81 cases detected. Similarly, ADD took 192 lives in Karnataka with 19,62,271 cases detected, while Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala saw 424, 97 and six people die, respectively, due to the disease. Viral Hepatitis was responsible for 43 deaths in Karnataka. Enteric fever led to the death of 19 in the State. Every litre of drinking water in Evura, near Yadgir district of Karnataka, contains 4.2 mg of fluorides. The nitrate content is 145 ppm per litre, according to a 2011 report of the Department of Mines and Geology. What has compounded the problems for the people is that they are too poor to be able to avail treatment for their illnesses. Experts believe that intake of drinking water containing high fluoride and arsenic contents may lead to a number of other health problems such as dental fluorosis and arsenicosis and that only provision of safe drinking water can control spread of waterborne diseases.
