Fighting disease

Adequate chlorination of water is recognised as a minimum standard in safe water supply and is responsible for limiting the spread of many diseases such as cholera and typhoid. In Pakistan’s largest city, however, this minimum standard appears not to be of much importance to health officials as the alarming emergence of Naegleria fowleri shows. In the 40-year-old man, who died at Aga Khan Hospital on June 26, the brain-eating amoeba claimed its third victim this year. The microorganism, which first surfaced in Karachi last year, causes a fatal disease called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis. Breeding in freshwater, soil and sewage, it gets into the brain through the nasal cavity where it rapidly multiplies. Symptoms appear two to 15 days after the Naegleria fowleri enters the body and are initially mild, including headache, fever and stomach pain. The disease, however, is fatal and death occurs three to seven days later. Last year, the brain-eating amoeba caused 10 deaths in Karachi between July and October; this year, it has already claimed three victims. While drinking water contaminated with Naegleria fowleri is not harmful, inhaling it through the nose allows the organism to go up the brain.

In a study carried out by Aga Khan University, eight out of 52 water samples taken from various localities in Karachi were found infected by Naegleria fowleri. Adequate chlorination of water can solve the problem but, according to another study, up to 41 per cent of the water supplied to the city does not have sufficient amounts of chlorine. It is sad that needless deaths are being caused because of the disregard for a simple safety standard. Surely, it cannot be that hard to ensure that the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board effectively deploy one of the cheapest and most effective methods of purifying water? Meanwhile, health authorities also need to conduct an awareness campaign. People are advised to use boiled water while washing their face and performing wuzu, and to swim in adequately chlorinated water.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4^th, 2013.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.