The 11 Deadliest Diseases by Pathogens: Water-Borne Diseases

The deadliest diseases may be in your glass of water right now.

Water is the source of life, and yet it can also be the source of death. Ironic as it may sound, waterborne diseases are one of the leading causes of death in human history.

This is because water harbors pathogens or microorganisms that are invisible to the naked eye. The most common of these are viruses, bacteria, and protozoa.

In this article, we will share with you the deadliest of pathogens and show you what they do.

What are viruses, bacteria, and protozoa?

A virus is an infectious non-living thing that can reproduce by telling its host cell to make more viruses. They are very diverse in shape and structure, and they have the power to infect healthy cells and turn these cells into virus factories.

Protozoa, on the other hand, are single-celled organisms that are usually harmless. They are like algae but are too small to be seen without a microscope. The bad protozoa are mostly parasites and most of them thrive in fecal matter.

Bacteria are single-celled organisms that live together by the millions. They are found in almost every environment on Earth and can withstand different types of temperatures. Bacteria typically thrive in human intestines and over the years, have adapted to use either organic or inorganic materials as a food source.

Not all bacteria are harmful, as humans also need good bacteria to promote good digestion.

Now that we know the three types of pathogens, let us look at the most common ones that wreak havoc on humans.

1. Norovirus

Name of Disease: Gastroenteritis (Traveler’s Disease)

The Norovirus is a highly contagious disease that spares nobody. It can easily be transmitted by any person, by contact with infected food and water, or as simply as coming in contact with infected surfaces.

The virus, once inside the body, inflames the intestines and the stomach, causing severe stomach pain, nausea, and diarrhea.

Norovirus is the known leading cause of waterborne diseases like acute Traveler’s Disease around the world. It spares no age group. Typically, those who are more than 65 years of age are more likely to suffer death than younger victims. Every year, the Norovirus causes around 800 deaths and 20 million total reported illnesses. A majority of these incidents are due to unclean water sources such as wells that have been contaminated by fecal matter.

Gastroenteritis, or Traveler’s Disease, is a disorder in the digestive tract that results in loose stools and abdominal cramps.

The most common symptoms are abrupt diarrhea that causes you to pass stool at least three times a day, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, and fever.

Though gastroenteritis is curable, it is best that you keep your drinking water safe from the presence of Norovirus. To do this, bring your drinking water to a boil for at least one minute. If you are up in the mountain, boil your water for at least three minutes.

2. HAV (Hepatitis A Virus)

Name of Disease: Hepatitis A

Hepatitis A is a liver disease that can be passed on to people because it is virus-borne. Typically, it is passed on from one person to another through food and water that is contaminated by fecal matter. Unlike Hepatitis B, it is rarely fatal but can cause serious debilitating conditions like acute liver failure.

Every year, waterborne diseases like Hepatitis A spread in parts of the world and become an epidemic, mostly because of contaminated water. It is a virus that is persistent in the environment. Studies show that the mortality rate of people who get infected for all age groups is just 0.3%.

Many people who get infected do not show symptoms. But the most common, if ever a person shows symptoms, are the following: tiredness, muscle soreness, loss of appetite, fever, stomachache, light-colored stool, dark yellow urine, and yellowish skin.

To ensure that your water is safe from the Hepatitis A virus, bring the water to a full boil for at least a minute. The high temperature will kill the virus. Make sure to store the boiled water in a clean, sanitized container.

Filters will not remove the virus from the water because it is too small. An alternative to boiling is to chlorinate the water.

3. Cryptosporidium

Name of Disease: Cryptosporidiosis

Though it does not sound common, Cryptosporidiosis is a form of diarrhea caused by a microscopic parasite called Cryptosporidium. This parasite lives in the intestines of humans and animals and is carried along with the stool. The virus and the disease are commonly known as Crypto.

Cryptosporidium is typically passed on through contaminated food and water. But in most cases, the transmission happened because of contaminated water.

In the last 20 years, Crypto was recognized as the most common cause of waterborne diseases. It is found in recreational water and even in your drinking water. Apart from water, the virus also transmits through dirty swimming water, uncooked contaminated food, and close contact with infected people or animals.

Annually, Cryptosporidium affects roughly 9 people for every population of 100,000. Though not considered fatal, the parasite can infect other parts of the digestive tract, and this can result in chronic illnesses. The most common symptoms of infection are stomach cramps, watery diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and weight loss.

The parasite is a tough one and can resist chlorine treatment. You can eliminate Crypto from your drinking water by using reverse osmosis or by using filters specifically designed to filter crypto. You can also boil your water for at least three minutes to kill the parasite.

4. Giardia

Name of Disease: Giardiasis

Giardiasis is an unpopular disease but is a common form of diarrhea. The culprit behind it is the protozoa called giardia. It is a microscopic parasite that thrives in soil and human feces.

This disease is highly communicable as its main mode of transmission is contaminated water. It can also find its way to food, and it is not unusual to have outbreaks of the disease in crowded areas, especially in places that lack good sanitary measures.

Though Giardiasis is rarely deadly, about 5,000 people are hospitalized annually due to it. Most of these cases involved children under five years old, primarily because they always come in contact with soil.

If you or someone you know has Giardiasis, you will typically not show symptoms but if you do, watch out for fatigue, vomiting, nausea, loss of appetite, greasy stools, diarrhea, bloating, excessive gas, abdominal pain, and headaches.

It is tolerant to chlorine disinfection because it has an outer shell that protects it from chemicals. To kill or inactivate the virus, you need to boil your water for at least three minutes or longer if you are in high-altitude areas.

Let the water cool and store it in a clean container. You can also buy a point filter to eliminate it from your drinking water. Just make sure that the filter has reverse osmosis and that the pore size is 1 micron or smaller.

5. Campylobacter Jejuni

Name of Disease: Campylobacteriosis

These bacteria cause around 1.3 million illnesses per year in the US. Typically found in contaminated water, Campylobacter Jejuni can easily cause an infection. It is also transmittable through contaminated food, contact with animals that have it, and drinking raw, or unpasteurized milk.

Typical symptoms of the disease are diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps. As the bacteria incubate, you will also have a fever and start to vomit. And all these symptoms typically start within 2 to 5 days after the infection.

It is also worth noting that individuals who have weakened immune systems like those with AIDS are prone to life-threatening cases of the disease.

Though not often fatal, this bacterium is one of the four most common causes of diarrhea around the world. Every year, 1 in 10 people fall victim to this and it affects 550 million people globally.

To make your drinking water safe, boil it for at least three minutes. There are no filters available to remove the bacteria from water. Make sure that the boiled water is kept in a clean container.

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6. Legionella

Name of Disease: Legionnaires’ disease

This is a scary-sounding name, and you should be scared. Legionnaires’ disease is a kind of pneumonia that is caused by Legionella, a kind of bacteria that thrives in freshwater. Typically, the bacteria will live in water tanks, hot tubs, and even in large air conditioners where water drips.

The virus is named so because of the first outbreak in 1976 when more than 2000 people attended an American Legion convention and 129 were infected. Out of these, 29 people died. Today, in the United States, between 8,000 to 18,000 people get infected every year. And of all these, 10% are likely to suffer death.

Among waterborne diseases, this disease is not transmitted from human to human. Most people who are exposed to the bacteria may not even develop the disease.

However, there are risk factors that increase the likelihood of the disease manifesting such as old age, chronic lung disease, smoking, and a poor immune system. Symptoms of the disease include cough, fever, muscle pains, shortness of breath, vomiting, and occasionally, diarrhea.

What makes this a scary bacterium is that there is no known vaccine to make yourself immune to it. The only way to prevent exposure is to ensure that your water is clean, especially your drinking water. Once you are infected, the only treatment is to take antibiotics. And it is also very likely that you need to be hospitalized.

This thrives in water temperatures between 95 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit. There is no long-term solution to kill it but the most immediate remedy is to superheat your drinking water. In addition, continuous chlorination is deemed to be an effective way to get rid of it.

7. Shigella

Name of Disease: Shigellosis (dysentery)

Commonly known as dysentery, Shigellosis is one of those highly contagious water-borne diseases caused by Shigella, a kind of bacteria that thrives in fecal matter. It is so infectious that exposure to the smallest amount can cause transmission.

Infected people will show symptoms of fever, stomach pains, and diarrhea. This typically happens a day or two after the infection. Some people, despite getting cured, can still transmit the bacteria to others.

Shigella is often transmitted when a person puts an infected material in his mouth. Naturally, the obvious prevention is to keep your hands clean.

The Shigella bacteria can cause severe complications like dehydration. It can cause seizures in small children and can also induce rectal bleeding.

The bacteria can invade the bloodstream and can also cause death. However, most recorded fatalities happen in developing countries where there are very few water treatment programs and where sanitation is a constant challenge.

To ensure that your water is safe from Shigella, you can use the chlorination method or ensure that your water supply comes from a plant that uses chlorine to treat it. In the absence of chlorine, a great alternative is to boil your drinking water for three minutes and store it in a clean container above ground.

8. Salmonella

Name of Disease: Salmonellosis

We usually think of eggs whenever we hear salmonella, but it also thrives in water and is one of the most common waterborne diseases.

People who get infected with and develop salmonellosis will show signs of diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever. The fever can last up to seven days and most people can recover without medical intervention.

Beware, however, because Salmonella can cause death, especially to those who have impaired immune systems. Every year, about 1.2 million people get infected and 23,000 of these need to be hospitalized. About 380 of these people die.

Salmonella is transmitted through mishandling of food and dirty water. Usually, the transmission happens between two people. Sometimes it can be between animals and people, especially chickens and this is through the fecal-oral route. If you ingest organisms or foods contaminated with it, you will develop salmonellosis.

Your drinking water is not safe, especially if you are getting it from a well. To free it of salmonella, you need to boil your drinking water and cool it before storing it in a sanitized container. Take note that no filter can eliminate this from your drinking water.

9. Salmonella Typhi

Name of Disease: Typhoid Fever

Salmonella Typhi is the bacteria that causes typhoid fever. Around the world, typhoid fever affects roughly 17 million people globally. And out of these victims, 600,000 die every year.

It gets transmitted by water or food from an infected person to another host. Infected people can also contaminate water if their stool gets into contact with soil that is close to the water source.

This is especially so if the water source is a deep well. The water supply, when contaminated, can also contaminate the food. Note that the bacteria can also survive for many weeks in water or even in dried sewage.

The most common symptom of typhoid fever includes lethargy, diarrhea, high fever, severe headaches, and poor appetite.

To eliminate Salmonella Typhi from your drinking water, you need to boil it for at least three minutes, especially if you are in a mountainous region. There are no filters available that can eliminate the bacteria from drinking water.

10. Vibrio cholerae

Name of Disease: Cholera

Vibrio cholerae is the bacteria responsible for cholera outbreaks. Cholera is a highly infectious disease that was prevalent in the 1800s when water treatment systems were not yet in place. Even today, cholera is pervasive in developing countries with poor sewage systems.

Every year, around 150,000 cases of the disease are reported to the World Health Organization. The good thing is that it only has a 1% mortality rate. However, if left untreated, the chances of dying from cholera increase to 60%.

Once it gets to your intestines, the common symptoms are diarrhea, dehydration, muscle cramps, rapid heart rate, low blood pressure, loss of skin elasticity, and thirst.

You can use a filtration system to eliminate the bacteria from your drinking water. Another option is to boil it for several minutes to kill all pathogens. You can also solarize your water to kill the bacteria that cause cholera.

11. Escherichia Coli

Name of Disease: Verotoxic E. Coli

Escherichia Coli is commonly known as E. Coli. It lives in the intestines of humans and animals. Although most of them are harmless and a natural part of life, some can cause serious damage in the form of Verotoxic E. Coli, which infects around 100,000 people every year in the US and causes the death of 90 people per year.

Verotoxic E. Coli is a disease that we, in layman’s terms, also called E. Coli. It is a form of pathogenic diarrhea that can cause dehydration and can also cause intestinal infection. Once you contact with a bad E. Coli pathogen, you will experience abdominal pain, diarrhea, and fever. If left untreated, this can escalate into kidney failure and bloody diarrhea.

The disease is usually transmitted through unsafe handling of food and contaminated water. Poor sanitation can move the bacteria from humans or animals into the water stream. You can get infected by drinking the water or by swimming in it.

To eliminate the bacteria from your drinking water, boil it for three minutes. It has to be a rolling boil to ensure that the pathogen is dead. No filtering process can separate E. Coli from water.

Summary: Deadliest Diseases

In summation, we are responsible for the water we drink. Even though governments have set up the infrastructure and systems to provide clean water, we can never have a 100% guarantee that all these pipes do not have cracks. It takes only one crack, and the entire water supply is at risk of exposure.

As you may have observed, all the pathogens we discussed do not live in high temperatures. All you need to do is to boil your drinking water and make sure you place them in sanitized containers.

Your other option, if you have the means to buy it, is to use filters in your tap. There are many products out there that are easy to install on your faucet. These filtration systems are the products of years of research and are proven to eliminate several forms of pathogens.