Water Borne Diseases

Waterborne Diseases and Climate Change Waterborne illness results when pathogens enter the water supply without detection and are then consumed, either directly through drinking water or indirectly from contaminated food, by unsuspecting humans. Waterborne diseases are caused by a variety of microorganisms, biotoxins, and toxic contaminants, which lead to devastating illnesses such as cholera, schistosomiasis and other gastrointestinal problems [4]. Outbreaks of waterborne diseases often occur after a severe precipitation event (rainfall, snowfall). Because climate change increases the severity and frequency of some major precipitation events, communitiesespecially in the developing world could be faced with elevated disease burden from waterborne diseases. In addition, diseases caused by Vibrio bacteria such as cholera and other intestinal diseases may pose a greater threat due to the effect that rising sea temperatures will have on the growth and spread of bacteria. Climate change is likely to increase diarrheal disease incidence worldwide, and extreme weather conditions may also complicate already-inadequate prevention efforts [5,6]. Changes in climate are likely to lengthen the transmission seasons of important vector-borne diseases and to alter their geographic range. For example, climate change is projected to widen significantly the area of China where the snail-borne disease schistosomiasis occurs. Schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease transmitted by aquatic snails, also seems to be affected by climate. In China, the latitudinal threshold beyond which temperatures were too cold for the snail to live have moved northwards, putting nearly 21 million more people at risk of the disease [6]. http://www.cdc.gov/climateandhealth/effects/waterborne.htm http://omicsgroup.org/journals/impact-of-climate-change-on-air-and-water-borne-diseases-2167-7719.1000e126.php?aid=22137
http://www.psr.org/assets/pdfs/vector-borne-and-water-borne.pdf