Exposure to Animal Feces and Human Health Essay

In a place where a high number of animals exist, there is the subsequent production of animal waste. The massive amounts of waste are not safe to the people living in the surrounding. Similarly, the agricultural aspects such as spraying and application of fertilizers are harmful to the community therein. More importantly, poor management of the animal waste and agricultural chemicals releases dangerous pathogens that expose the members of the community to health risks (Delahoy et al., 2018). This is more prevalent in communities that live near the animal and agricultural farms. For instances, there is a high probability of human health impacts to people exposed to poorly managed animal waste and agricultural products transmitted through water pollution, poor hygiene, and sanitation to communities that live in areas household animals, large-scale farmers, and free-roaming animals are very common (Delahoy et al., 2018). In this case, the exposure to animal waste creates health risks where the community stands the risk of contracting diseases such as diarrhea, trachoma, growth faltering, and environmental enteric dysfunction. Following the risks facing these communities, there is a need to identify the strategies these people ought to incorporate to avoid further exposure to these pathogens that create adverse health impacts. Although the greater prevention responsibilities lie on the animal farm, the members of the community also have a responsibility to secure themselves from the underlying danger. For this reason, the paper suggests the various prevention strategies that the members of the community living the large pig farm have to integrate measures to mitigate the health risk therein.

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Despite the fact, the prevention and mitigation of the health hazards posed by the large pig farm, the members of the community need to be keen in preventing their exposure to the subsequent exposure to pathogens that may impact their health and cause dangerous diseases. While a higher proportion of the health risks is contracted through hygiene and sanitation factors, it is significant that the members of the community observer a high degree of hygiene and sanitation in their habitats (Sclar et al., 2016). It thus entails promoting aspects such as regular hand washing and enhancing the domestic hygiene. As a way to prevent contracting the diseases, the members of the community need to avoid consuming raw vegetables and also make an effort of washing hands before taking meals (Campbell et al., 2017). Consequently, it is significant to clean the vegetables thoroughly before cooking and also thoroughly cleaning the foods that they consume directing including fruits. Adequate sanitation and proper hygiene such as hand washing will protect the members of the community from getting exposed to the animal waste from the large pig farm. Although adults can quickly learn to maintain proper hygiene and sanitation, it can be challenging for the children. Children will often play around the pig farm and later place their hands in the mouth without washing. In this case, mothers need to teach the children to clean their hands regularly before taking meals (Sclar et al., 2016).

Furthermore, the members of the community are at risk of contracting dangerous pathogenic diseases through contaminated water. When the large pig farm sprays the animal waste on the crops, these chemicals may cause water pollution in the nearby rivers. Moreover, the animal waste releases a pathogenic chemical that pollutes the air and thus producing contaminated rainwater (Ercumen et al., 2017). When the community consumes the contaminated water, they are at risk to contract the diseases. For this reason, it is significant that the members seek to enhance the medical care by acquiring medical services that aim at immunizing the people to prevent contracting communicable diseases. For instance, the members can seek medical care to acquire a vaccination against common diseases such as typhoid and cholera. It is significant in preventing the children in particular from getting exposed to the diseases. Furthermore, sometimes it is not easy to control children from consuming contaminated water, and thus a vaccine would be applicable in preventing them from contracting the dangerous diseases. Alternatively, the members can seek to treat water before consumption. There are various strategies to treat water for domestic purposes (Penakalapati et al., 2017). For instance, the most common way is to boil water before consumption. Heating water kills the pathogens and bacteria present in the water making it safe for human consumption. The members can also opt to treat water using chlorine, iodine, or using a water filter. All these methods are recommendable as they enhance the sanitation and safety of water since they kill the bacteria and pathogens available in water acquired directly from the source (Sclar et al., 2016).

Conclusion

In conclusion, adopting the preventive measures discussed above will be essential in mitigating the underlying risk that the community members face. Not only does the strategies protect the members from beings exposed to the pathogens released by the animal water, but it also helps in enhancing their health. Since the community lives near a large pig farm, they are at risk to contract diseases and thus calls for the need to adopt the measures. More importantly, it is worth noting that maintaining proper sanitation and domestic hygiene as paramount in avoiding poor health issues especially in the risky environment therein.

References

Campbell, S., Nery, S., Wardell, R., D'Este, C., Gray, D., & McCarthy, J. et al. (2017). Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and environmental risk factors for soil-transmitted helminth intensity of infection in Timor-Leste, using real time PCR. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 11(3), e0005393. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0005393

Delahoy, M., Wodnik, B., McAliley, L., Penakalapati, G., Swarthout, J., Freeman, M., & Levy, K. (2018). Pathogens transmitted in animal feces in low- and middle-income countries. International Journal Of Hygiene And Environmental Health, 221(4), 661-676. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2018.03.005

Ercumen, A., Pickering, A., Kwong, L., Arnold, B., Parvez, S., & Alam, M. et al. (2017). Animal Feces Contribute to Domestic Fecal Contamination: Evidence from E. coli Measured in Water, Hands, Food, Flies, and Soil in Bangladesh. Environmental Science & Technology, 51(15), 8725-8734. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.7b01710

Penakalapati, G., Swarthout, J., Delahoy, M., McAliley, L., Wodnik, B., Levy, K., & Freeman, M. (2017). Exposure to Animal Feces and Human Health: A Systematic Review and Proposed Research Priorities. Environmental Science & Technology, 51(20), 11537-11552. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.7b02811

Sclar, G., Penakalapati, G., Amato, H., Garn, J., Alexander, K., & Freeman, M. et al. (2016). Assessing the impact of sanitation on indicators of fecal exposure along principal transmission pathways: A systematic review. International Journal Of Hygiene And Environmental Health, 219(8), 709-723. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2016.09.021