Parasites Found in Drinking Water: Is Your Health Being Threatened? Is There A Simple Solution?
The number of cases of parasites found in drinking water cited in the news has underscored the need for measures to be taken to safeguard water. Pathogens like E. Coli (fecal coliform), Cryptosporidium, and Giardia Lamblia contained in untreated water can pose a potentially fatal hazard to those consuming the tainted water.
Of the parasites listed above, Cryptosporidium and Giardia Lamblia is protozoans while E. Coli is a bacterium. All three may be passed to humans through the presence of untreated sewage and in cases where intensive grazing occurs allowing the pathogen to infect watersheds. Additional ways that E. Coli can get into the water come about when human sewage enters aquifers, drainage ditches, and nearby lakes, rivers and streams.
These sources of pollution occur when septic systems begin to fail, heavy rains cause combined sewer systems (they are used to carry both domestic sewage and storm water) become overloaded and overflow into nearby water sources and allow the coliforms contained in the effluent to bypass treatment.
Additional sources of E. coli include the run-off from paper mills, an accumulation of plant material, or the run-off from roads, yards, and parking lots, which contains animal waste from pets like dogs.
Cryptosporidium and Giardia Lamblia is transmitted when one of their microcysts is ingested and takes up residence in the epithelial tissue of the small intestine. Both Cryptosporidium and Giardia Lamblia is resistant to conventional treatment methods and can live for up to months under varying conditions of temperature, moisture and infection caused by other organisms.
Instances of infection have even been reported in day care centers due to the need to change the diapers of infected children. While they affect humans, these pathogens are some of the most common parasites found in birds, dogs, cats, beavers, cows and sheep. Being a bacterium, E. coli is far less hardy and can be more easily eradicated.
Cryptosporidium and Giardia Lamblia produce symptoms which are very similar to one another. They include acute diarrhea, stomach cramps and a low fever. It is possible for the diarrhea to persist for weeks.
The symptoms of E. coli infection have been associated with typhoid fever, viral and bacterial gastroenteritis, dysentery, ear infections, and hepatitis A. In all instances’ people with a compromised immune system, including the elderly, children, and people suffering from diseases like AIDS, could face fatal consequences if the infection is not treated quickly and properly.
In addition to sanitary practices like frequent hand washing and sterilizing all containers that come into contact with food stuffs in water, the one method of removing these parasites found in drinking water is by boiling for several minutes.
Barring that, home filtration systems which employ filters small enough to exclude these pathogens will afford protection. Water containing these pathogens as articulate is forced through the filtration system leaving contaminants on one side of the filter and allowing the clean water to pass through to the other. A typical unit is an activated carbon filtration system.