Waters of death

The death of two more people in Karachi, as a result of the Naegleria Fowleri amoeba which has contaminated water supplies in Karachi and possibly other parts of Sindh, is a crisis. It indicates the lack of safe drinking water and what that can do to people. The latest victims are a young doctor who lived in Karachi and an eight-year-old boy who is believed to have lived in Dadu but was treated at Liaquat National Hospital. The Naegleria Fowleri amoeba lives in supplies of fresh water which are not chlorinated and causes bacterial meningitis if it enters the nasal cavity from where it can travel to the brain. This is also commonly known as the brain-eating amoeba.

Before this, two other persons had died as a result of meningitis caused by the amoeba, also in Karachi. This is becoming a regular occurrence each year. The Sindh Health Department has advised people to put bleach in their water tanks and ensure it is properly dissolved. We certainly hope this is a safe suggestion and will not lead to any kind of health consequences for the people. In Karachi, water collected from 50 percent of UCs in the city was found to be contaminated in one way or the other. This is a frightening number. People have a right to safe water to drink and bathe. It should be a government priority to ensure this is available to them. The health department is carrying out further testing of water supplies in Karachi and other cities in Sindh to determine the precise situation. It is also said water piped to houses will be chlorinated, but perhaps, notably as the monsoon season begins, people should chlorinate their own water as some doctors have already suggested.

The issue of safe drinking water is one which has an impact on the entire country. The deaths in Karachi indicate how much danger lies in a substance on which we depend for life. People must also be made aware of not swimming or bathing in unchlorinated freshwater sources, such as lakes, ponds or rivers. This has been a cause of Naegleria Fowleri in the past. Along with warning people, measures have to be taken to make water safe to prevent further deaths.