Contaminated water and inadequate sanitation are significant factors in the spread of diseases like cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid, and polio. When water and sanitation services are lacking or poorly managed, people face preventable health hazards. This risk is heightened in healthcare facilities, where both patients and staff are more likely to contract infections due to insufficient water, sanitation, and hygiene services. Worldwide, about 15% of hospital patients acquire an infection during their stay, with this rate being much higher in low-income countries.
Mismanagement of wastewater from urban, industrial, and agricultural sources results in dangerously contaminated or chemically polluted drinking water for millions. An estimated 842,000 deaths occur annually due to diarrhea linked to unsafe drinking water, poor sanitation, and inadequate hand hygiene. Diarrhea, however, is largely preventable. Addressing these risk factors could prevent the deaths of 361,000 children under the age of five each year. In areas with limited water availability, people may deprioritize handwashing, further increasing the risk of diarrhea and other diseases.
While diarrhea is the most well-known disease associated with contaminated food and water, other hazards exist. Schistosomiasis, an acute and chronic disease caused by parasitic worms, affects nearly 240 million people who are exposed to infested water.
In many regions, water-dwelling insects transmit diseases like dengue fever. Some of these vectors breed in clean water, with household drinking-water containers serving as breeding sites. Covering water storage containers is a simple measure that can reduce vector breeding and decrease fecal contamination of water at the household level.
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