Water
& Disease 4:
Water washed diseases
Water
washed diseases
Water washed diseases are
caused by water scarcity where people cannot wash themselves, their
clothes or home regularly.
Trachoma is the main cause of preventable
blindness in the developing world, with four million sufferers, an
estimated 500 million at risk and six million permanently blinded. It
is common in areas that are hot, dry and dusty and where there is not
enough water for people to wash regularly. Trachoma is spread,
especially among young children, by flies, fingers and clothing coming
into contact with infected eyes, spreading the infection to other
people's eyes.
Effect on
health: The infection
causes a sticky eye discharge with soreness and swelling of the
eyelids. After repeated infections scarring of the inner eyelids occurs
which can lead to trichiasis where the eyelashes turn inwards. These
then rub on the eye, scarring the cornea and causing blindness.
Prevention: Trachoma can be prevented through
regular hand and face washing with a good supply of clean water, along
with hygiene education to help prevent flies from breeding.
Scabies occurs in areas where there is a
lack of water and people are unable to wash themselves, their clothes,
bedclothes or houses regularly.
It is caused by the scabies
mite which infests the surface layer of the skin. The mite can spread
from one person to another through personal contact.
Effect on
health: Scabies causes
itchy sores and lesions mainly between the fingers, wrists, elbows,
breasts and pubic areas.
In younger sufferers more
areas, including baby's feet and the head, can be infected. Because
sufferers often scratch the sores and lesions they become prone to
other infections.
Prevention:
Washing regularly with
soap and keeping clothes, bedclothes and houses clean prevents scabies.
Task
1, Comprehension: Read the passage and answer the questions below.
1. Why do
people catch water washed diseases?
2. How many
people are in danger of catching trachoma?
3. What is
the worst result of catching trachoma?
4. How is
trachoma spread?
5. What two
things can people do to prevent trachoma?
6. What is
the result of catching scabies?
7. How is
scabies spread?
8. What can
people do to prevent scabies?
9. What do
scabies and trachoma have in common?
Task
2: In groups discuss the topics below -
Topic 1: Compare and contrast
parasitic diseases and water washed diseases?
Topic 2: Why do you think some
countries are short of water and other countries have more than enough?
Topic 3: Do you think problem
of access to safe water will get better or worse in the future?
or
Write a summary(about 200 words) of your discussion of one of the
topics.
Go
on to Genes and other things 1
(This page is password protected)