Introduction
1. What are germs?
2. Getting germs
3. Germ environment
4. Germ travel
5. Symptoms
6. Water's role
7. Water suppliers
8. Rules
9. Conclusion
Diseases & pathogens
Note on E. coli
Symptoms: How are we exposed to germs?
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Pathogens
can enter our bodies through four routes
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| Ingestion: | swallowing into the digestive tract |
| Inhalation: | breathing into the respiratory tract |
| Blood stream: | parenteral:
through a wound vector borne: from an insect bite |
| Absorption: | through the skin; this is very rare for microorganisms |
Since our interest here is drinking water, the route
of exposure we will consider is ingestion. Illnesses in the digestive
tract (sometimes called the alimentary canal) are called gastrointestinal
diseases. Common symptoms of gastrointestinal diseases are vomiting and
diarrhea. Prolonged and severe diarrhea is a major cause of death in many
parts of the world, and contaminated, untreated drinking water is a principal
cause of those afflictions.
Think about your symptoms: did you throw up, have a fever, go to the bathroom
frequently? How long did your illness last? Did you go to the doctor?
Did anyone suggest what made you sick? Chances are very high that there
were germs involved.
Germs are everywhere in the world: on us, in us, and around us. Some of
them can make us sick, by causing infections, so doctors and scientists
work hard to learn as much as they can about them. Water suppliers need
to understand germs, too, because it is their job to keep drinking water
safe.
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Infection:
Invasion by pathogenic microorganisms of a bodily part
in which conditions are favorable for growth, production of toxins,
and subsequent injury to tissue. – American Heritage Dictionary (AHD) |
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See
the kinds of germs we're talking about |
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