Parks, Peggy J. Waterborne Illnesses.

Parks, Peggy J.   Waterborne Illnesses.   Gale/Lucent  2013  104p  ISBN 978-1-4205-0935-9   series: Diseases & Disorders  hs      E-BNS      Nonfiction 

The problem of contaminated water that causes illness in human beings is examined in depth in this well written, informative book.  Especially in countries where sanitation is not good, various viruses and bacteria thrive in water and cause devastating illness.  The author explains how these viruses and bacteria behave and how the water supply spreads them.  She discusses the ways in which human behavior adds to the problem, from the use of “flying toilets” in poor countries to the use of contaminated well water during a 1999 drought in New York state.  Several different diseases are discussed in detail, among them cholera, dysentary, diarrhea, and typhoid fever.  Several recent instances of water-borne disease in parts of the world that have experienced humanitarian crises are highlighted, such as the outbreak of cholera in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake and the 2009 tsunami in the Philippines. 

The writing is compelling, the photographs are appropriate and well placed, and there are end notes, a glossary, a list of organizations to contact, an index, and a list of references, both print and electronic, for further study.  The inclusion of brainpop in the list of references seemed a bit juvenile for the age group this book is written for, however. Diseases & Disorders is the series of which this book is a part.      

Summary: The problem of contaminated water that causes illness in human beings is examined in depth in this well written, informative book.  Especially in countries where sanitation is not good, various viruses and bacteria thrive in water and cause devastating illness.   

Illnesses                                              --Carol Kennedy