Problem of Waterborne Diseases in African Countries

Abstract

The diseases, considered waterborne or associated with poor sanitary conditions, pose a serious problem for health sector in the majority of African countries. The above-mentioned illnesses include infectious and parasitic ones, namely, cholera, typhoid fever, hepatitis A, amebic and bacillary dysentery, trachoma, ascariasis, trichuriasis, ancylostomiasis, and schistosomiasis. Their proliferation is conduced by hot climate, as well as lack of access to safe water and sewage systems for population. African countries may be classified into 3 groups by spread of the diseases in question: with steadily dangerous, difficult and relatively safe sanitary and epidemiologic situation. Capacity of vaccination against waterborne diseases faces several limitations. An important target for African countries is to provide clean water and adequate sanitation for all in order to eliminate waterborne diseases or reduce their proliferation to acceptable levels. It requires modern technologies that take into account local conditions and resilience of pathogens to chemical disinfectants.