AVALIAÇÃO DA QUALIDADE DA ÁGUA PARA CONSUMO HUMANO E SUA RELAÇÃO COM DOENÇAS DE VEICULAÇÃO HÍDRICA

Abstract

Among the health problems associated with water are acute diarrheal diseases (ADD), which are responsible for the death of thousands of children and adults every year around the world and which are usually related to poor hygiene habits and drinking water and/or food contaminated by enteric pathogens. And leptospirosis, a disease transmitted by bacteria present in the excreta of infected animals (mainly rodents) usually presents an increase in its notification rates in rainy and flooding periods. In the present research, the survey of epidemiological data for the prevention and control of these health problems was carried out, having been developed with the objective of evaluating the microbiological quality of the water supply of the municipalities belonging to the 4th Regional Health of Paraná (4th RS), during the period from 2014 to 2019, and to verify its correlation with ADD and also to assess whether there is an association between cases of leptospirosis and periods of flooding in the region, as well as with the levels of precipitation recorded in the place during the period studied. To this end, a survey of data made available by the Laboratory of Environmental Sanitation and Water Quality, of Unicentro, and by the Epidemiological Surveillance Section of the 4th Regional Health (SCVGE/04RS) was carried out, based on the organization and tabulation of information and analyzes statistics of the factors of interest. 8,271 reports of water samples from the region were analyzed and it was found that most of the samples collected in the municipalities of the 4th RS (55.66%), between 2014 and 2019, were outside the standard established by current legislation. In addition, almost 60% of this portion had contamination by Escherichia coli (E. coli), indicating fecal contamination of these points. Also, during the tabulation of the reports, it was observed that, over time, samples were often collected from the same places and these remained contaminated, leading to the inference that improvement actions were not taken to correct the situation or that such actions were not taken. were not efficient in the period studied. However, no significant correlation was found between DDA and the relative proportion of non-conforming water samples (fN), in relation to total coliforms (TC) and E. coli, in the municipalities and in the area as a whole covered by the 4th RS. Likewise, no correlation was found between the incidence of leptospirosis and the risk of contact with water or mud from flooding in the 30 days prior to the first symptoms of the disease, nor with the precipitation rates accumulated in the studied period. This research evidenced specific characteristics in relation to the water quality and the evaluated diseases that can help the managers of the region in the decision making for improvements in the areas covered by the addressed theme that can bring benefits to public health.