Contaminated Water Responsible for 1.4 Million Deaths Annually

Water contaminated with viruses, bacteria, and parasites, or serving as a breeding ground for disease-carrying insects like mosquitoes, is responsible for approximately 1.4 million deaths each year, according to ANSA news agency.

The Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei in Italy, on the occasion of World Water Day on March 22, organized a conference in Rome focusing on the relationship between water and the spread of diseases, from cholera to malaria, dengue fever to the West Nile virus.

Andrea Rinaldo, professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), stated that the spread of waterborne diseases is changing due to climate change.

In 2023, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) recorded over 1,100 cases of West Nile virus infections across Europe, with Italy reporting 779 cases and 72 deaths.

The last cholera epidemic in Italy was in Bari in 1994. Experts emphasized the need for national interventions due to current climate conditions.

Source: KYΠΕ