Synonyms
Infectious diseases due to polluted water; Infectious diseases due to contaminated water
Definition
Waterborne infectious diseases are due, mostly, to drinking polluted water. In some cases, germs can penetrate the intact skin of a person who comes into contact with the water in which the germs live.
Basic Characteristics
Significance of Water
Water is essential for life. It is also called the “gold of the 21st century”. The United Nations General Assembly, in December 2003, proclaimed the years 2005 to 2015 as the International Decade for Action, “Water for Life” (http://www.un.org.waterforlifedecade/background.html).
Water covers 75% of the earth's surface. Of this, 97% is seawater and only 3% freshwater. Two percent of the 3% freshwater is ice, 0.9% is ground water and 0.1% is surface water. Most probably, a sufficient supply of drinking wateris one of the decisive factors guaranteeing health and the avoidance of infectious diseases and...
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© 2008 Springer-Verlag
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Korn, M. (2008). Water Quality and Waterborne Infectious Diseases . In: Kirch, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Public Health. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5614-7_3718
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5614-7_3718
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-5613-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-5614-7
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