Food and water borne diseases 

 

a)  Roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides)

Round worm are a type of parasitic invertebrates  that are mostly internal parasite of different mammals like human being. As its name, its body is round or cylindrical and long. Body length of an adult may range from 10 to 30 cm. It is infectious and lives in the intestine and sucks body fluids from its wall. It has remarkably high reproductive power. A female round worm can produce more than 2,00,000 eggs in a single day. The eggs are so small that we cannot see them with our naked eyes. If there is open defecation  by an infected individual or any other means of spreading the eggs of the worm, the eggs can contaminate soil, vegetables, fruits, and water resources. Due to such contamination, there is high chance of entry of the eggs in our stomach with food or water. The eggs are hatched inside his alimentary canal due to favorable temperature and environment within the canal. They grow rapidly and reproduce abundantly. They suck blood and body fluids from the internal wall of the intestine. Such activity affects the host badly. Its transmission through the feco-oral route, i.e. the route that takes feces to the mouth can be controlled simply by adopting proper healthy habits like washing hands properly before food intake and washing vegetables properly with clean water before use.

Symptoms of Roundworm

• The children seem tired ,and physical performance is declined.
• The children feel sensation of vomiting, or nausea, and abdominal pain, especially in the morning.
• Sour watery fluid is expelled from the esophagus in the morning.
• Indigestion and low appetite resulting ultimately in malnutrition.
• Related growth and development of body.
• Distinctly visible worms in the stool. The worms may come out with vomit in the severe stage.
• Sometimes, the worms cross the intestinal wall and spread in other parts of the body, too. Presence of worms in the brain may result in brain impairment and even death.

b) Diarrhea

It is a condition of frequent discharge of watery stool. It attacks people in all age groups, though the main victims are children. Diarrhea is a normal and easily controllable disease, but it has been a major cause  of child mortality in Nepal. Annual child death is about 45 thousand due to infectious diseases including diarrhea. Among them, about 30 thousand children die each year due to diarrhea only. This shows a severe problem of diarrhoea existing in Nepal. This disease is called mainly by Garter Bacillus, Entireties and Ecoli. This is transmitted through faecal contamination of water and food items. Files play the main role in contamination as they sit on contaminated stool and bring the above mentioned micro organisms attached to their feet to our food item. In this way they act as mechanical carriers of diarrhea. Diarrhea is sometimes caused by indigestion of food.

Symptoms of Diarrhea

• Frequent and watery stool is the main symptoms of diarrhea.
• Due to heavy loss of water from the body, the patient feels intense thirst.
• Muscle cramp occurs sometimes.
• Mucus is discharged with stool.
• The patient becomes thinner. Eye look sunken and deep.
• Patient may fall unconscious in severe cases.

Dehydration:

Dehydration is the lack of water in our body. The human body consists of about 70% water of the total volume of the body. Water plays a basic and vital role in regulating all the body functions.

The following symptoms are seen in dehydration.

• Frequent and severe thirst 
• Decreased urination
• Eyes look sunken and deep 
• Declined blood pressure
• Weakness and fatigue
• If any parts of the body is pressured with the fingertip, a deep mark remains for several minutes.

c) Dysentery

It is a condition, when the mucus is discharged from the body frequently with loose stool. It is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of colon1. Like diarrhea, dysentery is also transmitted through the fecooral route. Food, vegetables, hands, water and other things, which come in contact with the mouth may cause dysentery if they are contaminated with  causative agents. Dysentery is categorized into two types: Amoebic dysentery and bacillary dysentery. Amoebic dysentery is caused by a species of amoeba, whereas bacillary dysentery is caused by a type of bacteria.

Amoebic dysentery

This disease is caused by a microscopic amoebic microorganism, Entamoeba Hystolytica. Symptoms of amoebic dysentery are :

• The patient feels abdominal pain and cramps.
• The pain becomes severe at times.
• Mucus is discharged with stool
• Sunken eyes and hollow cheeks are observed.
• Due to frequent passage of body fluid, dehydration occurs.
• The patient feels remarkable weakness, intense thirst and fatigue.

Bacillary dysentery

This disease is caused by the bacteria, Shigella Shiga. Symptoms of bacillary dysentery are:

• Moderate to severe pain in the bowel
• Sudden pain and cramps in the muscles
• Mucus and blood are seen in the stool
• Frequent passage of stool
• The patients feels thirsty very frequently due to loss of water
• Weakness and fatigue
• Dehydration

Many symptoms of amoebic and bacillary dysentery are similar . The following table shows  the differences between  these two forms of dysentery. 

    Difference between amoebic and bacillary dysentery.

Amoebic Dysentery	Bacillary Dysentery
a) It is caused by an amoebic parasite called Entamoeba histolytica	a) It is caused by a bacterial microorganism of the genus Shigella. Species may be dysenteriae, sonnei, flexineri, shiga, boydii, etc.
a) Blood is discharged in clumps. Color of blood is dark red	b) Blood is discrete. Color of blood is bright red.
c) Its incubation period is more variable than bacillary. It varies from a few days to several months. But the average period is 2-4 weeks.	c) Its incubation period is about one to seven days.
d) It appears in sporadic forms in a community.	d) Its appears widely as a sudden outbreak.
e) Amount of feces discharged is comparatively more.	e) Amount of feces is scanty.
f) Odor of the feces is more offensive.	f) The feces produce little or no offensive order.
g) PH of feces is acidic.	g) PH of feces is less acidic or alkaline.
h) It is associated only with complications.	h) It is mostly associated with fever.
i) Pain and tenderness are localized, especially in the lower abdomen.	i) Pain and tenderness are felt in the whole abdomen.
j) Amoebic dysentery spreads slower than  bacillary.	j) It spreads more quickly than amoebic.
k) The onset is insidious (with the symptoms progressing gradually over a bit longer period of time).	k) The onset is acute (the symptoms appear and last for a shorter period of time.)