Safe drinking water, water borne diseases and dehydration

With Cholera being in the news and the current number of people killed by cholera in Hammanskraal has risen to 23, with 200 people in hospital. (IOL 30 May 2023)

Some of the water borne diseases that pose a high risk to South Africans include gastroenteritis, cholera, viral hepatitis, typhoid fever, bilharziasis and dysentery.

Water related diseases are classified into four types relating to the path of transmission:

• Waterborne diseases, such as cholera and typhoid, are the diseases that are transmitted through drinking water. The interruption of transmission is achieved by proper treatment of drinking water.
• Water-washed (water-scarce) diseases, such as polio, are diseases where the interruption of the transmission is achieved through proper attention to effective sanitation, washing and personal hygiene. Regular washing of hands, especially after going to the toilet, is the most effective measure in preventing many infections, as is proper washing and hygiene during food preparation, together with proper sanitation, waste disposal and fly control.
• Water based diseases are diseases transmitted by contact with water, e.g. recreational swimming.
• Water vector diseases, such as malaria, are diseases that are transmitted by a vector, such as the mosquito, which needs water or moisture in order to breed. Prevention of transmission is through a vector control.

Cholera – “Comma Bacterium”

Cholera is a diarrhoeal disease that is very sudden in onset. It is characterised by a massive loss of body fluids, through diarrhoea and vomiting, leading to severe dehydration, which can be fatal. The stool has the appearance of “rice water”. Infants and small children show the most rapid advance of the illness. Untreated cases of cholera can lead to death within 6 hours, depending on the degree of dehydration.

How is Cholera Transmitted?

Any person can contract the disease by ingesting water or food contaminated by a toxic strain of the bacterium called Vibrio cholera. This bacterium is excreted by infected individuals and can live for at least three weeks in water. The bacteria can also survive in food especially seafood.