Description

We tend to take water for granted. This is mainly due to the success, over the last century, in controlling infection hazards in water supplies, at least in developed countries. Other disease priorities have overtaken earlier concerns with water, and the safety of water supplies and sanitation has been largely left to water providers. However, the continuing incidence of waterborne outbreaks such as those involving Cryptosporidium parvum is where most of the public health attention is focused. This paper reviews the data available on outbreaks and on other aspects of water-related disease, such as surveillance methods. It also addresses some of the emerging problems such as infections transmissible by water, water pollution, climate change and the sustainability of safe supplies in the next century. The paper highlights the need for greater public health inputs into water surveillance.