Contaminated River Water

Contaminated River Water Suspected in India's Hepatitis E Outbreak

Officials in the Indian state of Maharashtra suspect that contaminated water from the Panchganga river is responsible for a recent hepatitis E outbreak in Ichalkaranji. Eighteen people from Ichalkaranji and the city’s surrounding area have died from the infection over the past month, with another 4,000 remaining ill.

Ichalkaranji’s chief health official, Sunil Sangewar, noted that leaks from sewage pipes and industrial effluents have contaminated the Panchganga, and that authorities are addressing the issue. In an effort to curb the spread of the virus, schools and restaurants in Ichalkaranji have closed for eight days.

Hepatitis means that the liver is inflamed. Hepatitis E is one of a few different hepatitis viruses (others are hepatitis A, B, C, and D). Different hepatitis viruses cause different types of disease: some chronic, some acute. Hepatitis E is typically an acute viral infection, transmitted through the consumption of fecally-contaminated water or food. Poor sanitation and shedding of the virus in feces contribute to the infection’s spread. Symptoms of hepatitis E include fever, nausea, jaundice, dark urine and joint pain. Hepatitis E is rare in the United States, but epidemics have been reported in Central and Southeast Asia, North and West Africa and Mexico.

No vaccine is available for hepatitis E. Preventing infection is possible through good hygiene, high standards for public water supplies and good waste management practices. CDC recommends that travelers visiting areas where hepatitis E is endemic avoid drinking water that has not been boiled or chlorinated and drinks with ice. Additionally, travelers should eat only thoroughly-cooked food.

From the source: http://www.healthmap.org/news/contaminated-river-water-suspected-indias-hepatitis-e-outbreak-62512

Drinking water it plays the major role in our daily life, clean drinking water is most important to avoid any disease.

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Hepatitis E

Hepatitis E is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis E virus: a non-enveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus. Every year there are 20 million hepatitis E infections, over three million acute cases of hepatitis E, and 70 000 hepatitis E-related deaths. Hepatitis E is usually self-limiting but may develop into fulminant hepatitis (acute liver failure).

 Symptoms

Jaundice

Loss of appetite

An enlarged liver

Abdominal pain and tenderness

Fever and vomiting

There is no available treatment capable of altering the course of acute hepatitis. Prevention is the most effective approach against the disease.

 

18 killed in hepatitis E outbreak in Maharashtra

Eighteen people have been killed in Ichalkaranji city, 300 kms. South of Mumbai, because of outbreak of hepatitis E. The outbreak was caused by contaminated water from the city's Panchganga River. 

An outbreak of hepatitis E has struck the western Indian state of Maharashtra killing at least 18 people and leaving over 4,000 sick, officials said Wednesday.

City authorities suspect the outbreak in the Ichalkaranji city was caused by contaminated water from the city's main Panchganga river. The city has a population of 300,000 and is situated 300 kilometers south of Mumbai.

"Fifteen people were killed in Ichalkaranji while three more were killed in its surrounding areas in the outbreak over the past month," the city's chief health official Sunil Sangewar said. Most deaths occurred in the past fortnight.

"The main reason for the outbreak is leaks from sewage pipes and industrial effluents mixing with the Panchganga, making it highly polluted," he said, adding authorities had taken measures to stop the contamination.

While several hundred patients taken ill with hepatitis have been treated, around 300 patients were under medical care in the city, he said.

Schools, colleges and restaurants in the city have been shut down for eight days in an effort to control the spread of the disease.

From the source - Reference Link - http://india.nydailynews.com/newsarticle/4fe1e6dbb1e35ded25000000/18-killed-in-hepatitis-e-outbreak-in-maharashtra

 

Water purification is playing the vital role in human’s life. 

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Viral Infections

Rain water stagnation can cause various water bornediseases.

"Wash vegetables thoroughly before cooking. Mosquito nets and repellents should be used. Try to eat hot food during the season,"

After a long wait, the monsoon has set in for the year. Though the season makes one to search for hot munchies, the time has come to guard oneself from water borne diseases and other seasonal infections. These viruses could turn out to be fatal if left unattended. 

The season invites several viral infections like diarrhoea, typhoid, hepatitis A and B, malaria, fever, cold, cough, etc. The time is convenient for mosquito breeding as the rain water gets stagnated, filling the small pools and pits. One can be more prone to jaundice and diarrhoea during monsoon, said HoD of Medicine KGH M. Madhusudhana Babu. “Maintaining personal hygiene by washing hands frequently with soap has become mandatory,” he said.Chlorination of the water tanks should be done periodically, said physician K. Surya Rao. “Leaking taps where one gets municipal water supply pose a threat. As the dirty water gets stored in the seeping pipelines and when the pipe gets opened for regular supply, the contaminated water gets gushed along with the drinking water,” he explained. People who are already suffering from heart, kidney and brain infections are more prone to water borne viral fevers, said another physician V. Srinivas. “ Precautions should be taken to avoid mosquito breeding at home and surroundings. Keep the environment clean from old and unused tyres, coconut shells and other unwanted items where rain water gets stagnated. 

For more information - Reference Link - http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Visakhapatnam/article3579956.ece

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