Clean Water For Life
Hepatitis and water; two words that can be a horror story for a victim infected with bacteria found in unsafe water. Tomorrow, July 28, 2021 is World Hepatitis Awareness Day and it’s important to know why.
There are a variety of Hepatitis types (from A-E). This virus, regardless of type, can cause immense damage to a person’s liver, a vital organ that sustains life. In some instances, the situation can become so dire, it can cause an epidemic that causes hundreds of deaths.
Some types of Hepatitis infectious are transmitted through blood and body fluids, or infected through drug use from a contaminated needle, alcohol abuse, an autoimmune disorder, even sharing a razor, if the person using the razor first, has Hepatitis. These types of viruses become chronic illnesses with severely damaged liver problems and more. While I’m not going to go into all the details about each of the types of Hepatitis, I am going to discuss how water can be a key player in the Hepatitis puzzle.
Organisms of all description lives in water and are totally harmless. It’s a natural phenomenon. But sometimes our drinking water gets contaminated with other bacteria like arsenic, E.coli, lead, radon and more. This is when water becomes a problem.
What’s interesting to note is this contamination isn’t resigned to only impoverished countries. It happens right here in the United States. Even as recently as March 2021, Nevada sent out an alert because people were getting sick; it was believed from bad water. Apparently the alkaline pH level had risen higher than the safe number defined as ‘7’ and people were becoming ill with Hepatitis. https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hsb/chemicals/nonviralhepatitis.htm
Hepatitis can attack the liver violently and make a person sick for months. That is why it is so important that we not only make sure we are drinking safe water, but that children around the world are able to drink this clean, clear liquid. In some countries the water is contaminated, not only from natural causes but from unsanitary situations. In this setting, an entire community can become diseased with symptoms that can last for months! The sickness leads to the inability to think, function, and in some cases cause death, especially for small children or older adults.
While natural disasters like fires, hurricanes, tornadoes and floods can quickly cause contamination of rivers and streams due to waters mixing in with livestock excrement, human waste and other chemicals; trash disposed in the wrong places also have an impact. Household trash, plastic items, car parts, and other larger items can be found in lakes and streams across the land. These items are contaminates deposited in the water and are not only poison to humans but wildlife. The animals ingest their ‘find’ causing organ failure, and death, followed by decay. It becomes a vicious cycle, but not only for wild creatures. The contaminated waters follow the tributaries and could eventually end up in our drinking glass.
I encourage you to look at the glassful of water you hold in your hand. If you are secure in the knowledge the water is clean and free of damaging chemicals or germs, be thankful. There are plenty of folks around the globe who don’t have this precious gift, for personal sanitary needs or even sustainable to drink, for life.
#Hepatitis #WorldHepatitisAwarenessDay #CleanWater #ContaminatedWater #LiverDisease #HepatitisVirus #Disability #Health