Question

Name a human disease, its causal organism, symptoms (any three) and vector, spread by intake of water and food contaminated by human fecal matter.

Answer 1

Disease caused by the intake of water and food contaminated by human fecal matter mostly affects the digestive system as the causal organism mostly inhabits the stomach or intestine. The vectors are mostly those organisms that sit on fecal matter and further contaminate the food and water by transferring pathogens to it.

Complete answer:
A human disease that is spread by the intake of water and food contaminated by human fecal matter is amoebiasis or amoebic dysentery that is caused by Entamoeba histolytica.
Symptoms of amoebic dysentery are:
-Pain in the abdomen.
-Constipation followed by cramps.
-Bloody diarrhea.
A vector or carrier of Entamoeba histolytica is the housefly (Musca domestica).

Additional information: Amoebiasis was first discovered by Fedor A. Losch in 1875, in northern Russia. It is usually transmitted by the fecal-oral route and to prevent this disease following precautions must be taken:
-Wash hands thoroughly with soap for at least 10 seconds after using the toilet or before handling food.
-Avoid sharing towels.
-Clean bathrooms and toilets often.
-Avoid eating street foods.
Apart from these, good sanitary practice, as well as better sewage disposal, is necessary for the prevention of E. histolytica infection. Also, the cysts of E. histolytica are resistant to chlorination, therefore sedimentation and filtration of water supplies are necessary to lower down the level of infection.

Note: Human excreta and the lack of adequate personal hygiene have led to the transmission of many infectious diseases including cholera, typhoid, ascariasis, and polio. The pathogens for these diseases can be transmitted either by direct person-to-person contact or by indirect routes including food, water, vectors, and inanimate objects.