Common Illnesses Caused by Water Pollution
1. Intestinal Infection
Intestinal infection is a combination of nausea, abdominal pain, and severe diarrhea. In cases of acute bowel obstruction, patients may also have high fever and blood in stools. There are two types of bacterial dysentery, Bacillary dysentery caused by bacteria and amoebic dysentery caused by amoeba. When one of these two types of bacteria invades water or is consumed through contaminated food, there is a risk of dysentery after an incubation period of 1-4 days.
2. Arsenic Poisoning
Arsenic is a hazardous substance often discharged as wastewater by industrial manufacturing companies located along riversides. The disease is caused by long-term exposure to small amounts of arsenic through drinking water. Arsenic poisoning is characterized by severe skin lesions, which can progress to cancer and affect the lungs, kidneys, and bladder.
3. Lead Poisoning
Lead poisoning is caused by drinking water contaminated with lead, often from old pipes or water pollution. The disease is especially harmful to children and can cause a range of health issues, including organ damage, nervous system disorders, anemia, high blood pressure, kidney disease, and reproductive problems.
4. Paralysis (Infantile Paralysis)
Paralysis is a disease acute viral hyperinfection caused by a virus, transmitted through water from the stool of an infected person. The disease affects the central nervous system. When a person is infected with this virus, they will experience fever, headache, and convulsions, followed by paralysis.
5. Eyeball Pain Disease (Eye Infection)
This infection is caused by Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria found in contaminated water. The disease causes inflammation and stiffening of the inner surface of the eyelids. It can lead to eye pain, damage to the outer surface or cornea, and blindness. The disease is widespread due to poor hygiene conditions.
6. Crying Bitterly (Dengue Fever)
Dengue fever is caused by Salmonella Typhi bacteria, which can be infected by eating contaminated food or drinking water. The bacteria pass through the intestines and can be identified in stool samples. Symptoms include nausea, loss of appetite, and headaches.
7. Scabies
This disease is caused by worms spreading from contaminated fresh water snails living in polluted water. It is very common in rural areas where people use local water sources for swimming and recreation. Water worms penetrate a layer of skin while in contact with polluted water, causing infection in the liver, lungs, intestines, and bladder.
8. Cholera
Cholera is an intestinal infection caused by Vibrio Cholerae bacteria, which can cause death within a few hours if not treated promptly. Symptoms of cholera include diarrhea and vomiting, as well as muscle cramps and headache. According to WHO, every year there are 21,000 – 143,000 deaths worldwide due to this infection.
9. Diarrhea
Diarrhea is one of the most common diseases caused by water pollution. It is usually caused by a virus transmitted through water. Bacteria and parasites from contaminated water are also common causes. This disease can cause dehydration and death in infants and young children.
10. Malaria
Water pollution has led to an increase in mosquito reproduction. Malaria is a disease caused by a parasite, transmitted by female Anopheles mosquitoes. When a mosquito bites a person infected with malaria, it can spread the disease to others. The disease causes high fever and headache. In severe cases, it can even lead to complications such as severe anemia, coma, and death.
10 Most Safe and Effective Water Purification Solutions
1. Sterilizing Water with Heat
This is a popular, easy to implement, and effective method to kill disease-causing bacteria that may be present in water. Boiling water to reach 100 degrees Celsius and continuing to boil for 15 minutes will have the ability to disinfect cysts and worm eggs.
2. Simple Water Filter Tank combined with a Rain Shower
A simple filtration tank combined with a rainwater harvesting system is commonly used for filtering groundwater (from drilled or dug wells) for self-supply in rural areas. It is also used in areas without a municipal water supply to improve the efficiency of removing iron, manganese, and arsenic. The filtered water can be used for household purposes.
It is possible to use a rainwater harvesting system and a simple water filter (such as a barrel, tub, or ceramic pot) to create a simple water filtration system. Sand and gravel can be used as filtering materials.
3. Nano Water Filter
A nano filter has a pore size of about 0.001 micron, molecular weight of 200-2000 Daltons. The nano filter removes particles based on their size, weight, and properties.
Effectiveness of Nano Water Filter:
- Eliminate unicellular organisms such as Cryptosporidium, Giardia…
- Remove bacteria such as Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, E. coli…
- Remove viruses such as intestinal viruses, Hepatitis A virus, Norovirus, Rotavirus…
4. Water Disinfection Using Chemicals
Water disinfectants are used as chemicals containing Chlorine, such as Cloramin B (powder form) or T (tablet form 0.25g per tablet), Calcium Hypochlorite. In principle, the water after disinfection must have a residual Chlorine concentration of 0.3-0.5mg/L.
Viên Cloramin B or Viên T is very convenient for disinfecting small volumes of water such as bottles, cups, and small containers in emergency cases. One Cloramin B or T tablet (0.25g/tablet) can be used to disinfect 25 liters of water. The disinfected water should be stored in a clean, tightly sealed container and boiled for the purpose of drinking.
5. Activated Carbon Absorption
This is a widely used method in the treatment of pure water due to its ability to remove unpleasant smells, chlorine. Activated carbon is produced from various types of carbon materials to remove microorganisms, organic chemicals, and harmful substances in water. Carbon is often used in combination with other water treatment processes to achieve high filtration results.
6. Quick Disinfection with Ultraviolet Pen
Ultraviolet treatment prior to filtration is a process that uses ultraviolet light to disinfect water or reduce the presence of bacteria.
Effectiveness:
- Eliminate single-celled organisms such as Cryptosporidium, Giardia…
- Remove bacteria such as Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, E. coli…
- Remove viruses such as intestinal viruses, Hepatitis A virus, Norovirus, Rotavirus…
Limitation: ineffective in removing chemicals.
7. Detox with Bacteria
One of the new methods developed by researchers at Robert Gordon University Scotland has identified more than 10 different strains of bacteria capable of deactivating microcystin toxins. If these bacteria are introduced into water sources, they can detoxify microcystin toxins and make the water safe to drink without using any harmful chemicals.
8. Water Softening
Water softening uses ion exchange technology to remove chemicals or ions to reduce the hardness levels (calcium, magnesium) in water. This method can also be used to remove iron and manganese, heavy metals, some radiation, nitrate, arsenic, chromium, selenium, and sulfate.
However, this method does not have an effect against protozoa, bacteria, and viruses, so if used, it must be combined with other treatment methods.
9. Distillation
This is probably the oldest method of water filtration, a distillation system uses a process of heating water to boiling point and then evaporating water when it condenses, removing many pollutants. This stored water is also called distilled water.
Effectiveness:
- Remove single-celled organisms such as Cryptosporidium, Giardia…
- Remove bacteria such as Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, E. coli…
- Remove viruses such as intestinal viruses, Hepatitis A virus, Norovirus, Rotavirus…
- Remove common chemical pollutants, including arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, nitrate, sodium, sulfate, and various organic chemicals.
10. Reverse Osmosis Filtration System
Reverse osmosis (RO) technology is at the forefront of water filtration and water treatment. All of the impurities are blocked and pushed out along the wastewater line.
From organic substances, bacteria, or small viruses with a size of several tens of nanometers, they are all much larger than the pores on the RO membrane. Although metal ions are small, they are also surrounded by water molecules, making them too bulky to pass through the RO membrane.
The solution of water treatment with Reverse Osmosis (RO) membrane is considered advanced thanks to its ability to filter out 99.9% of harmful viruses, bacteria, organic impurities, heavy metals… to produce completely purified water. This technology is currently applied in household production and widely used for daily needs.
With the above information, proactively apply safe and effective water purification methods to prevent diseases caused by water pollution!
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