Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Water-Borne Diseases

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Global Security Studies

Introduction

In the field of health security, adequate, safe, and accessible water supplies and satisfactory sanitation are of key importance. “Pure water is the world’s first and foremost medicine,” says a Slovakian proverb, and the sentence has a similarly important meaning in its reversed form: contaminated water as the transmitter of water-borne illnesses is one of the leading causes of death globally.

Between 1980 and 2015, the average annual number of deaths due to water unsafe for human health amounted to 780,000 – dwarfing the number of deaths as a consequence of natural disasters (63,000) and in conflicts (75,000) (Ligtvoet et al. 2018, p. 38). According to the estimations of the World Health Organization (WHO, see chapter “World Health Organization (WHO)”), the overall number of people who die in diarrheal diseases per year totals 1.5 million, among whom 502,000 people die of diseases related to contaminated drinking water. Cases related to the lack of sanitation and hand...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Bartram, J., & Hunter, P. (2015). Bradley classification of disease transmission routes for water-related hazards. In J. Bartram et al. (Eds.), Routledge handbook of water and health (pp. 20–37). London/New York: Routledge.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Batterman, S., et al. (2009). Sustainable control of water-related infectious diseases: A review and proposal for interdisciplinary health-based systems research. Environmental Health Perspectives, (7), 1023–1032.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baylis, M. (2017). Potential impact of climate change on emerging vector-borne and other infections in the UK. Environmental Health, 16(Suppl. 1), 112. 45–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delpla, I., et al. (2009). Impacts of climate change on surface water quality in relation to drinking water production. Environment International, 35, 1225–1233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • EHP-NIEHS (Environmental Health Perspectives and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences). (2010). A human health perspective on climate change: A report outlining the research needs on the human health effects of climate change. The Interagency Working Group on Climate Change and Health. Retrieved 12 May 2018, from https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/materials/a_human_health_perspective_on_climate_change_full_report_508.pdf

  • Eisenberg, J. N. S., Bartram, J., & Hunter, P. R. (2001). A public health perspective for establishing water-related guidelines and standards. In L. Fewtrell & J. Bartram (Eds.), Water quality: Guidelines, standards and health (World Health Organization (WHO)) (pp. 229–256). London: IWA Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Filho, W. L., et al. (2018). Climate change and health: An analysis of causal relations on the spread of vector-borne diseases in Brazil. Journal of Cleaner Production, 177, 589–596.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gray, N. F. (2014). Chapter thirty-six: The implications of global warming and climate change on waterborne diseases. In S. L. Percival et al. (Eds.), Microbiology of waterborne diseases: Microbiological aspects and risks (pp. 653–666). London: Academic/Elsevier.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hunter, P. R. (2003). Climate change and waterborne and vector-borne disease. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 94, 37S–46S.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jamul, J. (2007). Foodborne and waterborne infections. In S. W. Salyer (Ed.), Essential emergency medicine: For the healthcare practitioner (pp. 264–274). Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ligtvoet, W., et al. (2018). The geography of future water challenges. The Hague: PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perkins, A., & Trimmier, M. (2017). Recreational waterborne illnesses: Recognition, treatment, and prevention. American Family Physician, 9, 554–560.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pond, K. (2005). Water recreation and disease plausibility of associated infections: Acute effects, sequelae and mortality (World Health Organization (WHO)). London: IWA Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shankar, P., Mishra, J., & Singh, S. (2014). Hepatitis A and E in potable water: A threat to health. In P. P. Singh & V. Sharma (Eds.), Water and health (pp. 29–51). New Delhi: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Singh, P. P., & Sharma, V. (2014). Prelude. In P. P. Singh & V. Sharma (Eds.), Water and health (pp. vii–viii). New Delhi: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Webersik, C. (2014). Climate change, water and health: Current impacts and future challenges for human security. In V. I. Grover (Ed.), Impact of climate change on water and health (pp. 54–74). Boca Raton: CRC Press/Taylor & Francis Group.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, G., Bradley, D., & White, A. (1972). Drawers of water. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • WHO. (2011). Cause-specific mortality: Regional estimates for 2008. Geneva: World Health Organization. Retrieved 21 June 2012, from http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/estimates_regional/en/index.html

  • WHO. (2015). WHO estimates of the global burden of foodborne diseases. Geneva: World Health Organization. Retrieved 12 May 2018, from http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/199350/9789241565165_eng.pdf

  • WHO. (2018a). Drinking-water. Retrieved 12 May 2018, from http://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/drinking-water

  • WHO. (2018b). Water, sanitation, hygiene: Diseases and risks. Retrieved 12 May 2018, from http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/diseases-risks/en/

  • WHO. (2018c). Water-related diseases: Information sheets. Retrieved 12 May 2018, from http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/diseases-risks/en/

  • WHO. (2018d). Foodborne diseases. Retrieved 12 May 2018, from http://www.who.int/topics/foodborne_diseases/en/

  • WHO. (2018e). The top 10 causes of death. Retrieved 24 June 2018, from http://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary

    Kinga Szálkai

Authors
  1. Kinga Szálkai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kinga Szálkai .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Alberta, Alberta, AB, Canada

    Scott Romaniuk

  2. University for Peace, San Jose, Costa Rica

    Manish Thapa

  3. Nemzetkozi Tanulmanyok Intezet, Rm 503, Corvinus Univ, Inst of Intl Studies, Budapest, Hungary

    Péter Marton

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Szálkai, K. (2019). Water-Borne Diseases. In: Romaniuk, S., Thapa, M., Marton, P. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Global Security Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74336-3_562-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74336-3_562-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-74336-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-74336-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Political Science and International StudiesReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation