GOOD HEALTH LESSON 3
SAFEGUARDING WATER SUPPLIES
Water Spread Diseases
A number of diseases are spread by water. Disease in water can be caused by bacteria (germs) which can live in water.
Examples of diseases spread by water include typhoid fever, dysentery or diarrhoea, liver disease (hepatitis) and poliomyelitis.
Other diseases are caused by parasites such as some types of worms, amoebic dysentery and bilharzia.
The most effective way to prevent getting these diseases is to boil all water used for household purposes if you are not sure your water supply is safe.
Safeguarding Water Supplies
An effective way of safeguarding water supplies is to keep wells and water holes clean.
Do not litter in water areas. Avoid throwing e.g. prams and rusty objects in water, dams or streams. Avoid throwing plastic wrapper or rubbish in the water.
Do not allow animals to go near where people get drinking water. Fence the water area if necessary. Do not allow urine or stools to be passed in or near water supply areas, or water holes.
The best way to ensure clean drinking water is to have clean water piped in to your house from a reliable Water Supply Department.
Sanitation
Toilets or out-houses should be built at least twenty (20) meters away from water holes, wells or streams.
Do not use detergents or soaps for washing clothes in the same place where water is taken for drinking.
It is very eseential not to allow poisons such as pesticides to run into streams or rivers from which water is taken.
Communities should organize self-help projects to protect springs, streams, water holes and wells in order to ensure safe drinking of water.
Test the Water
Water should be regularly tested to ensure it remains safe and clean for drinking.
There are various cost effective water testing kits on the market, testing for:
- Eschericia coli bacteria in the water (the germ in stools which can cause serious infection in humans if water with the bacteria is drunk)
- Lead
- Pesticides
- Chlorine
- Hardness
- pH
- Nitrates
- Nitrites
- Copper
- Iron
Test your water source to ensure it is safe to drink. If you are blessed to live in an area with a Department ensuring safe and dependable water supplies, enjoy your safe drinking and household water and remember to say a prayer of thanks for those who work so hard to ensure our communities stay healthy and waterborne disease free.
Ensure drinking, bathing and household purposes water is clean and safe.
Mosquitoes
Don't allow mosquitoes to breed on water surfaces. Mosquitoes require water in which to complete their life cycle.
I have seen acres of water across which mosquitoes hummed and in which their larvae thrived.
If unchecked, mosquitoes cause grave health problems by causing the disease malaria.
Mosquitoes lay eggs on the water surface. Their larvae live in water and come to the surface to breathe.
Larvae develop into pupae, and finally into adult mosquitoes.
New adults rests on the water surface in order to dry.
This enables their bodies, newly emerged from their pupae, to harden.
Mosquito wings need to spread out and dry properly before they can fly.
Malaria
The malaria parasites spend part of their lives in the red blood cells of certain female mosquitoes (Anopheles), and another part in the red blood cells of humans.
A female mosquito carrying malaria parasites bites a human and sucks blood.
The bite thereafter itches, and looks like a small inflamed (reddish) bump on the skin.
The mosquito has a characteristic humming whine as it waits for an appropriate opportunity to bite. The bitten human can then develop the disease malaria.
Another Anopheles female mosquito can then bite the infected human, and suck up the blood cells which contain malaria parasities.
These malaria parasites then develop and increase in numbers in the stomach of the female mosquito.
After approximately ten days the parasites move into the mosquito's salivary gland, and can be passed on to another person.
If you receive a bite from a malaria carrying mosquito and become infected, you can start showing signs of malaria two weeks after being bitten.
Treatment of Malaria
Prevention
Firstly, prevent malaria by ensuring mosquitoes don't breed on water.
If you know you are going into an area where there are many mosquitoes and malaria occurs, make sure you visit your Doctor and receive a prescription for special medications to prevent malaria while you visit the malaria endemic area.
Reliable Treatment
If you have contracted malaria, immediately go your Accident and Emergency Unit or visit your Doctor and receive the correct medication to treat the disease. Don't wait - it is treatable.
However, as with all illnesses, the quicker the diagnosis and treatment begins, the better.
Tips to prevent mosquito bites
During my field trips with the Charity, I have been in many mosquito-infested areas.
Deterrents are:
- Wear sleeves to the wrist
- Wear clothing that buttons up to the neck
- Keep the full body covered
- Wear trousers to the ankles.
Salwar kameez clothing is wonderful for keeping mosquitoes at bay while travelling.
Socks prevent mosquitoes from biting feet.
A scarf or dupatta around the neck is another deterrent.
I carry a small spray bottle of Safari Strength Insect Repellant which repels mosquitoes, ticks, black flies, biting midges, sandflies, chiggers, fleas and stable flies.
I apply the repellant to my skin as per the instructions, especially on face, hands and feet - avoiding my eyes and mouth.
I find it invaluable for repelling insects and mosquitoes.
Ask your Doctor or Pharmacist for a reliable brand, and directions how to use the repellant safely and correctly.
Insect Repellant Mats
In one malaria prevalent area Charity workers gave me a little device with insect repellant mats. The device gets plugged in (there was electricity in the area I was in), the little mat gets placed in the device which lightly heats up and gives off an odour which is not noticeable to humans but repels mosquitoes. I always use it as I find it effective.
Night Light
The most helpful I find is the following: if I keep a small night light on, this invariably deters mosquitoes for some reason.
Want to help?
Possibilities to consider:
- Fundraise and sink a well in an area with no water
- Organise water testing kits to test water in squatter camps/ refugee camps/ areas where it is unsure whether water drinking wells are safe
- If you are a water engineer, why not donate some of your valuable time pro deo to an area that needs assistance in achieving safe water
- Sponsor the education of a water engineer student.
Please note that the information contained within this blog post
is not meant to replace Doctor or Health Professional Care
