|
Microorganisms | Orgnismal features | Potential health effects | Sources of contamination |
|
Cryptosporidium | A single-celled protozoan parasite | Gastrointestinal illness (e.g., diarrhoea, gastroenteritis, vomiting, cramps) | Human and animal faecal waste |
|
Giardia lamblia | A single-celled protozoan parasite | Gastrointestinal illness (e.g., diarrhoea, gastroenteritis, vomiting, cramps) | Human and animal faecal waste |
|
Legionella | Gram-negative bacterium | Legionnaire’s disease, a type of pneumonia | Found naturally in water and multiplies in heating systems |
|
Coliforms (including faecal coliform and E. coli) | Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria | Not a health threat in itself; it is used to indicate whether other potentially harmful bacteria may be present | Coliforms are naturally present in the environment, as well as faeces; faecal coliforms and E. coli only come from human and animal faecal waste. |
|
Vibrio | Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria | Gastroenteritis | Human and animal faecal waste |
|
Shigella | Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria | Bacillary dysentery or shigellosis | Human and animal faecal waste |
|
Helicobacter pylori | Gram-negative, spiral-shaped bacteria | stomach ulcers | An emerging water-borne bacterium, possibly due to human faecal waste |
|
Clostridium perfringens | Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria | Gastrointestinal illness (e.g., diarrhoea, cramps) | Human and animal faecal waste |
|
Enterococci | Gram-positive, ovoid or round bacteria | Gastroenteritis | Human and animal faecal waste |
|
Salmonella | Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria | Gastroenteritis | Human and animal faecal waste |
|
Viruses (enteric) | Virus | Gastrointestinal illness (e.g., diarrhoea, vomiting, cramps) | Human and animal faecal waste |
|