At First-Ever National Summit, Participants Say a 'Source-To-Tap' Approach is Needed to Prevent Harm Caused by Waterborne Pathogens

WASHINGTON, June 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of the first-ever National Summit on Waterborne Disease, organizers released a report reflecting the views of the 27 delegates?leaders from among the public health sector, scientific community, water treatment segment, impacted populations and others? on policy opportunities to prevent and mitigate the harm caused by waterborne diseases.

Summit delegates convened in Washington, D.C. on May 23^rd to consider the challenges of waterborne diseases and what can be done through policy and system change to better protect Americans who are afflicted every year from waterborne pathogens that result in such illnesses as Legionnaires' Disease, nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infection, and Pseudomonas-related pneumonia. With more than four million Americans impacted each year from waterborne illnesses, the cost to taxpayers, beyond the tremendous health toll, is more than $1 billion annually.

Following widely reported cases of waterborne illnesses in Flint, Michigan, cases of Legionnaires' disease across the country and of post-hurricane illnesses afflicting so many Puerto Rican residents, delegates urged that a strong public education campaign be created to help citizens avoid waterborne disease. Participants also agreed on the need for more coordinated stakeholder communication to improve and hasten rapid decision-making by local and state officials. They also concurred that policymakers should take a more comprehensive approach to prevention by addressing the nation's crumbling water infrastructure with economically feasible, "source-to-tap" solutions.

Several themes emerged from the discussion, including the need:

• To acknowledge and further study the correlation between water sources and the spread of waterborne pathogens;
• For enhanced public education and communication to better protect the public interest; and
• For policy makers to play a more active role in addressing the link between water infrastructure and waterborne disease.

Among the policy priorities identified by delegates are recommendations to:

• Pursue a source-to-tap approach for pathogen management to more effectively reduce and prevent waterborne disease;
• Better educate the public and policymakers on how waterborne pathogens are spread ? beginning at the water source, often as a result of, or exacerbated by, aging infrastructure and water system disruptions ?to explain the link between infrastructure and public health; and
• Advocate for investment in water infrastructure to prevent the proliferation of waterborne pathogens as a central tenet of a national infrastructure initiative.

A copy of the report and the full list of key themes and policy recommendations can be found here.

For more information, visit waterbornedisease.org

SOURCE National Summit on Waterborne Disease