12 diseases resulting from water pollution and its causes
What are the diseases resulting from water pollution? Diseases resulting from water pollution. What is life like without water? How will we live? and what are we going to do? I do not mean here that the water will actually disappear from the face of the earth, but I wonder what we will do while we see it before our eyes but we cannot approach it because it has become unusable and polluted! .
What are the causes of this pollution? What are its consequences on the health of living organisms, the first of which is humans? We will learn about all this and more in this article...
The importance of water
Water constitutes the basic foundation for all the functions that lead to the continuation of life for all living organisms. It not only represents the largest part of the bodies of living organisms, but it is also involved in all vital processes that help to live a healthy life. It is home to many of them. How many creatures and beings live In the water.
We can summarize the most important benefits of water in the following points:
- It regulates body temperature
Water contributes to protecting living organisms from temperatures inside their bodies rising beyond a certain limit. It is characterized by its high ability to absorb heat and helps regulate the occurrence of chemical reactions.
- Water is home to many organisms
The most famous example of this is fish and marine creatures in general, as they breathe using oxygen dissolved in the water. Therefore, any pollution that occurs in the water directly affects these creatures.
Sources of water pollution
The sources that cause water pollution are:
Direct sources
It is what leads to this pollution once it falls into the water, such as waste or water resulting from water treatment plants and sanitary drains.
Indirect sources
These are substances that mix with water, but not in this direct way. They are represented by agricultural drain water contaminated with pesticides, which in the long run infiltrate to reach groundwater. They may also be represented by car exhausts or gas emissions from factories.
Causes of water pollution and diseases resulting from water pollution
Diseases resulting from water pollution Water pollution is due to many reasons, which are as follows:
- Drainage of sewage into water
It is the most common cause in all parts of the world, as wastewater contains many pollutants, harmful bacteria, or chemical contaminants that cause serious diseases in humans and may even lead to death. Malaria is one of the most famous diseases resulting from water pollution caused by mixing with wastewater. Healthy drinking water.
- Pesticide
Farmers depend on fertilizers and pesticides to protect crops from harmful pests and insects, which guarantee an abundant, insect-free crop. However, mixing of these pesticides with water leads to serious dangers to the health of living organisms, and this mixing may not be direct, but may also be in the long term. Remotely through the leakage of these materials and pesticides into groundwater.
- Factory waste
The products from industrial processes are harmful and even toxic substances, such as sulfur, mercury, and others. If these factories do not have a good drainage system away from fresh water sources, they will reach that water, contaminating it and changing its characteristics, making it unsuitable for use.
Diseases resulting from water pollution: The impact of water pollution
The main source of life for living organisms, and its pollution or deficiency means the absence of that life.
According to statistics conducted by The Lancet magazine in 2015, the number of deaths resulting from water pollution reached about 1.8 million people around the world. According to what was issued by the United Nations, the number of children under the age of five who die every year from diseases related to water pollution has reached about 297,000 children. The World Health Organization has indicated that there are at least 2 billion people who use polluted water on a daily basis. The impact of water pollution is particularly evident in poor communities that suffer from low income.
12 diseases resulting from water pollution
Diseases resulting from water pollution
Water pollution leads to many diseases, which are as follows. We will discuss in some detail the diseases resulting from water pollution:
1. Malaria infection
Malaria is the most common disease among the diseases caused by water pollution. Studies have indicated that this disease kills about half a million people annually. The reason for this is that the polluted, humid environment is the most suitable environment for the reproduction of insects, the most famous of which are mosquitoes, which are the main cause. for this disease.
To prevent this disease or even as an attempt to reduce its impact, studies have indicated that taking care of these contaminated environments and cleaning them periodically reduces the incidence of malaria by about 42%.
2. Cholera infection
Drinking water mixing with human or animal waste leads to many diseases, the most famous of which is cholera. There are many ways through which contaminated water can reach safe water, such as wastewater leakage.
3. Typhoid and giardia infection
Polluted water contains many bacteria and microbes that cause diseases in humans, such as typhoid fever, which occurs as a result of infection with Salmonella typhi bacteria. Studies have indicated that this disease affects about 72 million people every year, as well as giardiasis.
4. Trachoma infection
Contaminated water is one of the most important basic factors that lead to infection with this disease. It is an infectious disease that is transmitted from one person to another and means eye injury as a result of the use of contaminated water. In advanced cases, this disease may lead to loss of vision as well.
5. Malnutrition
Studies have indicated that the number of deaths due to malnutrition has reached 860,000 deaths every year, and malnutrition is an indirect disease caused by polluted water, as polluted water causes many intestinal diseases, which in turn cause problems of underweight and malnutrition, especially In children.
6. Schistosomiasis infection
Schistosomiasis is one of the most famous diseases resulting from water pollution. This dangerous disease does not occur, like other diseases, by drinking contaminated water, as what is responsible for it is a type of parasitic worm that swims in contaminated water. Once an individual washes with this water, these worms penetrate the skin. Once it enters the body, it causes severe inflammation and organ damage.
Studies have shown that this disease affects about 200 million people from all over the world.
7. Cancer
Polluted water is one of the causes of this disease, which has claimed the lives of millions of people around the world, as water contaminated with chemicals such as MTBE increases cancer rates. These substances damage the DNA in the body, causing these cancerous tumors.
8. Hepatitis
One of the most common diseases resulting from contaminated water. A person becomes infected by drinking water contaminated with the virus that causes it or washing the foods he eats with water contaminated with the virus.
9. Intestinal worm infection
Polluted water contains many parasites and worms, including intestinal worms, which include many species, including hookworms, roundworms, whipworms, and others. These worms lead to many diseases, such as malnutrition, delayed growth, and anemia, especially in children.
According to studies, intestinal worms infect about 10% of the world's population, and most of this number are children.
10. Lead poisoning
Water pollution with large amounts of lead, whether through chemicals or old drainage pipes, causes what is known as lead poisoning, which is one of the diseases resulting from water pollution, which threatens the lives of people all over the world. The most vulnerable to the risks resulting from this disease are children, because the entry of this metal in large quantities into their bodies leads to many health problems such as anemia and high blood pressure.
11. Fluorosis
As is the case with lead, an increase in the percentage of fluorine in water leads to what is known as fluorosis, which negatively affects the health of teeth and bones. According to studies, millions of people are infected with this disease around the world, as it is spreading in more than 25 different countries.
12. Polio
The main cause of this disease is a viral infection that enters the body through water contaminated with the feces of the infected person. It causes actual destruction of the nervous system and, in advanced cases, causes paralysis. Polio is one of the most famous diseases that was widespread in the past, but now studies have been able to find effective drugs for this disease, and those exposed to this disease are those who did not receive the polio vaccine in childhood.
And finally
Water is the vital fuel for the wheel of life, as it is the basic foundation upon which all its forms are built. Without it, there is no life, so it must be preserved in all possible ways. By reading this article, you will have learned about the importance of water and its sources, the most important causes of its pollution, and what are the diseases resulting from water pollution? And its effect on your health...