Health Effects of Heliobacter Pylori in Water Supplies.Research has shown that Heliobacter pylori bacteria cause at least 75 percent of stomach ulcers and two types of stomach cancer, writes Morgan Powell, P.E., water quality engineer at Kansas State University Kansas State University, main campus at Manhattan; coeducational; land-grant and state supported; chartered and opened 1863. There is an additional campus at Salina. Among the university's research facilities are the J. R. Research and Extension Service, Biological and Agricultural Engineering. About five million people in the United States have peptic-ulcer disease, and 2.5 million new cases of H. pylori infections occur each year. The health risk for people infected with H. pylori is very high: About one in five people get peptic-ulcer disease, about one in 200 people get gastric adinocarcinoma, and about 16,000 people die each year in the United States as a result of complications from peptic-ulcer disease. Each year, nearly 23,000 new cases of gastric adinocarcinoma are diagnosed in the United States, and about 13,500 people die from this disease. Gastric cancer gastric cancer Stomach cancer, see there has a five-year survival five-year survival Epidemiology The timespan that a person survives with a particular dread disease, in particular CA; 5YS facilitates standardization of survival statistics. See Cancer-free survival. rate of only about 12 percent. Recent research at Penn State University-Harrisburg (PSU PSU - power supply unit ) has shown a statistically significant link between people who have peptic-ulcer disease and H. pylori contamination of their private wells. The PSU researchers have found that a large percentage (85 percent) of wells that have coliform bacteria coliform bacteria Rod-shaped bacteria usually found in the intestinal tracts of animals, including humans. Coliform bacteria do not require but can use oxygen, and they do not form spores. They produce acid and gas from the fermentation of lactose sugar. also are contaminated with H. pylori bacteria. In addition, four wells that did not have coliform bacteria tested positive for H. pylori. The researchers also found that 65 percent of water samples taken from private wells and 75 percent of samples taken from surface water contained H. pylori bacteria. People always want to know: If unsafe drinking water drinking water supply of water available to animals for drinking supplied via nipples, in troughs, dams, ponds and larger natural water sources; an insufficient supply leads to dehydration; it can be the source of infection, e.g. leptospirosis, salmonellosis, or of poisoning, e.g. poses such a risk, where are all the individuals afflicted af·flict tr.v. af·flict·ed, af·flict·ing, af·flicts To inflict grievous physical or mental suffering on. [Middle English afflighten, from afflight, from drinking such water? In the past, researchers have not been able to show data conclusively linking health problems to contaminated water. Mr. Powell believes, however, that the PSU findings are significant and that drinking unsafe water from private wells is in fact a significant health risk. He also points out that safe wells are for the most part going to produce safe water. |
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