36.7% of children under 5 drink water contaminated with E. coli

The E. coli content in tap water in some provinces in my country is as high as 70%.In Quito, although its presence is low, there is a risk of causing illness

The National Child Malnutrition Survey showed that 36.7% of children under 5 years of age drank water contaminated with E. coli. Studies show that rural areas of the Amazon are the most affected.

In Santiago de Morona, the presence of bacteria is 70.2%; Orellana 67.8%; Zamora Chinchipe 61.7% and Napo 58.8%. This makes these provinces the ones with the highest levels of E. coli in their source water. Pichincha is the province with the lowest prevalence of this bacterium, at 2.5%.

coli disease

E. coli can cause illnesses such as gastroenteritis and, in more severe cases, hemolytic uremic syndrome, which is more common in vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly and those who are immunosuppressed.

Also read:

“It causes a variety of diarrheal diseases. In Ecuador, we found that vulnerable groups, such as indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian children, had 12 times higher mortality rates from acute diarrheal diseases caused by drinking contaminated water or food.” Health Doctor Es said Esteban Ortiz.

bottled water

Worryingly, this type of contamination can also occur in bottled water. “These results indicate that bottled water from certain regions of the country, certain coastal provinces and the Amazon Basin may be contaminated by 5 to 30 percent,” Ortiz said.

Therefore, the National Agency for Health Regulation, Control and Surveillance (Arcsa) confirms that it conducts frequent controls on bottled water and collects samples in laboratories and analyzes them to determine whether they are suitable for human consumption. Additionally, they advise citizens to check whether the water they are about to drink has health records, production date, expiry date and batch number.

Check out the details below:

Also on Teleamazonas: