Take precautions against consuming contaminated water – Health Minister warns

Heavy rainfall, flooding

The rainy season has triggered flooding across Guyana within recent days and persons experiencing inundation should take precautions against consuming contaminated water.

Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony issued this warning on Thursday, highlighting that attention should be placed on ensuring that water sources are free from contamination during floods. Contaminated water can cause illnesses in both children and adults.
He added that apart from sourcing drinking water elsewhere, persons could opt to use bleach or boil their water for safe consumption.
“If water supplies have been contaminated, people would be drinking that contaminated water. A lot of times, because the sewage can be flooded, it mixes with the water that probably they would be using to drink. We have to make sure that if that is happening, they get a better source of water.”
The Minister added, “Some people have been capturing rain water and if you have rain water, it also mean that you can add bleach so whatever bacteria is in the water, you can kill the bacteria so that you get water that is free from contaminants. A simple thing is to boil water. Once you boil it, it would kill the bacteria.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry is also monitoring communities for skin infections, caused by traversing through floodwaters without protection.
“For those communities that have experienced flooding, I would urge that you take those extra precautions to keep your water supply safe. If you do that then, then we’ll not see an increase in the diarrheal diseases, especially in children. In addition to diarrheal diseases that we normally see, we’re also on the lookout for skin rashes because would be walking through the water. They can get skin infections. That’s another thing that we’re on the lookout for,” Dr Anthony advised.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), floods can cause water-borne diseases, such as typhoid fever, cholera, leptospirosis and hepatitis A; along with vector-borne diseases, such as malaria, dengue, and dengue haemorrhagic fever and yellow fever.
“Floods may indirectly lead to an increase in vector-borne diseases through the expansion in the number and range of vector habitats. Standing water caused by heavy rainfall or overflow of rivers can act as breeding sites for mosquitoes, and, therefore, enhance the potential for exposure of the disaster-affected population and emergency workers to infections,” the Organisation said.
Within recent days, high tides have also caused severe flooding across a number of regions, leaving residents counting their losses. Livelihoods of those with farmlands and livestock were also affected. (G12)