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Travel health warnings predominate around being sure to get the appropriate immunizations to avoid illness\/sicknesses for your area of travel, ways to avoid Malaria, or avoid gastro intestinal tract infections through drinking from a contaminated water supply. <\/span><\/p>\n Contaminated water and illness are proven to go hand-in-hand. Between 20%-50% of travelers of the estimated 50 million people who travel each year fall ill with \u2018Traveler\u2019s Diarrhea\u2019 within 2 weeks, brought on by bacteria or parasites, placing \u2018drinking water<\/a>\u2019 as a significant travel health risk. Around 20% are incredibly sick for 1-2 days, up to 15% for over a week. <\/span><\/p>\n Bacterial water contamination can be caused by ineffective water treatment through municipal or smaller water supplies, corroded pipes, poorly monitored and maintained water storage. The severity of the contaminated water is often measured by fecal coliform readings. <\/span><\/p>\n Fecal coliform is found in the human digestive system and that of warm-blooded animals. Considered non-harmful, it does, however, indicate dangerous forms of e-coli and related bacteria, causes of hepatitis, diarrhea, and dysentery may be present in the drinking water, illness you do not want to contract but avoidable through water filtration.<\/span><\/p>\n Parasitic water contamination is most frequently associated with Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora, and Giardia Lamblia. Cysts can exist in water systems for months \u2013 often resulting in \u2018recreational\u2019 water illness \u2013 but after ingestion, the infectious lifecycle begins causing vomiting, stomach cramps, diarrhea, and fever. Standard chlorine water treatment is ineffective. However, cysts can be totally removed via a water filter. <\/span><\/p>\n Don\u2019t necessarily think because you live in or are traveling through a Western country, you will automatically have clean tap water or recreational water. Illnesses can occur in any country.<\/span><\/p>\n According to the U.S. Natural Resources Defense Council, \u201cMore than 45 million Americans drank water supplied by systems where the unregulated and potentially deadly contaminant, Cryptosporidium, was found in their raw or treated water.”<\/span><\/p>\n In 1993 Cryptosporidium entered the water supply of a major U.S. city, and more than 400,000 experienced illness from water contamination. In 1998 the residents of an Australian capital city boiled their water for weeks after Cryptosporidium and Giardia were identified. Other incidences of illnesses from water have been experienced in London and Miami. <\/span><\/p>\nMain Causes of Water-Related Travel Health Concerns<\/span><\/h3>\n
Western Countries Also Present Water Health Risks<\/span><\/h3>\n