Concider the global impact of a waterborne infectious disease (which Essay

Concider the global impact of a waterborne infectious disease (which may be caused by a bacterium or parasite) and discuss current methods for detection, treatment and prevention - Essay Example They can help in promoting good health, some digestion and some serve medicinal purposes. Lactobacillis is a family of bacteria found in the human digestive tract. Acidophilus is a member of lactobacillis and it is the best known bacteria of this family aiding in the breakdown of lactose to lactic acid and also the breakdown of other sugars. The production of lactic acid in the body provides acidic environment in the body which can inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria. Acidophilus is also used in certain drugs. Bifidobacteria is also a beneficial group of bacteria and is present in the human digestive tract and helps in digestion as well as ; it has also shown some anti-tumor qualities. Some bacteria are beneficial in other ways like they are used in agriculture for plant growth and some are used for cleansing of water. (Jeremy & Simon 2004). Many of the emerging pathogens nowadays are waterborne i.e. they take birth in water. Cholera has been a known disease in the world and two emerging waterborne pathogens are Vibrio cholerae O139 and Escherichia Coli (E.coli O157:H7). E.coli has not only become a problem for the underdeveloped nations but has also become a problem for the developed ones. This bacterium would be discussed subsequently. Vibrio Cholerae O139 is a pathogen which first infected many of the people living in Asia. It started in Bengal and then spread to India in 1992 from where it entered the vicinities of Thailand. It is through different methods that these emerging pathogens are spreading all over the world giving a difficult time to the authorities who have not handled such cases previously (Sharma et al 2003; Smolinski et al 2003). Enterohemorrhagic Escerichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 is the full name of the bacterium E. coli O157 which is a food and waterborne pathogenic strain of bacterium E. coli. The bacteria E. coli O157 was first known as a result of gastrointestinal illness in the early 1980s.