Wastewater-Associated Infections: A Public Health Concern

The contamination of water is a significant problem globally, for the spreading of pathogens and parasites causing infectious diseases, and the chemicals might be non-innocuous in the total environment. Indeed, the increased levels of metals and varied pollutants, pesticide residues, and industrial effluents in wastewaters are potentially hazardous enough to disrupt the biochemical processes of biota including humans, with eventual variations in enzyme activities and pathways, causing non-communicable diseases. The protection of national water supplies is the call of the day. The chemical methods of water purification have several undesirable side effects from the specially added compounds; the holistic removal of particulate matter with pathogens, parasites, and contaminants from effluents is achieved by physical, chemical, and biological methods in the wastewater treatment technologies that are most viable. An overview of sources and several ways of treating wastewater is given with highlights on the benefits and drawbacks of the various available technologies. Graphical abstract