Water contamination problems - Giardia and Cryptosporidium
Water Filter Corp on Water contamination problems:
Many situations arise where a source water requiring filtration is loaded with a fine particulate that needs to be removed from the water prior to filtration with activated Carbon or Zeolite. This fine particulate which will be removed by the carbon or zeolite will reduce their effectiveness as molecular filters and life expectancy.
There is also a group of contaminants, which includes microscopic worms, parasites and protozoa. The biggest offenders are Giardia Lambda and Cryptosporidium, which cause major diarrhoea, dehydration, intestinal disorders and even death.
Water experts estimate that over 63% of water problems are directly caused by Giardia and Cryptosporidium.
Giardia is seven to fourteen microns in size and Cryptosporidium is from four to six microns in size. When the environment becomes inhospitable (like the presence of chlorine), both parasites can go into the cystic form (like a hard, round, impermeable microscopic egg). The cyst form is resistant to chlorine and hard to kill.
Municipal water authorities are unable to remove the cysts.
Healthy individuals infected by these parasites experience cholera like illness: watery diarrhoea, headache, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting and low-grade fever.
For the immuno-compromised, however, the results of the infection are much more severe; the parasite can severely damage the liver and respiratory tract, as well as the gall bladder and pancreas. Even worse, there is a 40% to 50% mortality rate for the immuno-compromised.
Those at risk include cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, infants, the elderly, kidney dialysis patients, recent transplant patients, aids patients and others with suppressed immune systems.
16-Aug-2007