This is the E Coli bacteria, up close and personal
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/07/06/e.coli.survivor.rivera/index.html?hpt=C2
It tells the story of a woman here in the United States that got E Coli from eating contaminated cookie dough. It is a sad story and her tragedy is very real. A quote from the article:
Each year about 76,000 people get Linda Rivera's strain of bacteria -- E. coli O157-- according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (IN THE UNITED STATES). About 2,500 are hospitalized and 50 to 100 people die from it each year. E. coli O157 lives in the colon and feces of animals and humans. In certain situations, it can taint food, particularly raw meat and vegetables. Although salmonella kills more people than E. coli, because more people get it, the effects of E. coli, according to health experts, are much more severe. Ingest a strong strain of it, doctors say, and it can shut down your entire body.This story gets at the heart of why we do the work that we do at Healing Waters. E Coli come from contaminated human and animal feces and can be found in water and food supplies. It kills up to 5% of all children who get it. While there are no statistics for the worldwide death rate due to E Coli (the stat above is for the United States), it is a common form of contamination in the water sources we treat in Guatemala, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
While it is sad to see this happen in the US, it is fairly uncommon. In the countries where Healing Waters works, E Coli, Salmonella, Fecal Coliforms, Cholera and other waterborne diseases are a daily reality for the people living there.
It is a relatively simple fix to treat drinking water supplies and save families the illness and death from these diseases. For more information you can visit our website at: http://www.healingwaters.org/
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