Emerging Waterborne Pathogens In today's world of food preparation, waterborne pathogens are becoming a real threat. For what? Simply because in today's culture, people are quick to blame the food industry for most cases of illness or other ill effects caused by bacteria. In this article, several things will be discussed. To understand what I'm trying to say, you need to understand a few key terms. Let's first define waterborne pathogens. A waterborne pathogen is a microorganism that has recently been identified as capable of causing disease. Now that you know what a waterborne pathogen is, let's name a few. 1. Bacteria in the form of Arcobacter Butzleri, Helicobacter Pylori and E. Coli 2. Rotavirus viruses and Adenovirus Type 40 and 41 3. Acanthamoeba protozoa. Each of these possible pathogens has been identified, but according to the WRc's "Final Report to the Ministry of the Environment on Waterborne Pathogens", it is still possible that several unidentified pathogens are on the loose and dangerous. In order to understand how these pathogens work and how to destroy them, we need to understand many of the elements that make them up. Some of these parts are: Morphology Biochemical characteristics Detection methods Cultural characteristics Health effects Transmission routes Occurrence in water sources Exposure sources and susceptibility to removal or inactivation by conventional water treatment processes water. Each of these parts is used in today's world to identify and destroy existing and new pathogens. What happens if someone ingests a pathogen before it is identified? Well, that's one of the reasons why the Ministry of the Environment is so concerned. Due to the current state of the environment, new pathogens appear twice a day, overwhelming those working to stop them. A major example is legionella. Legionella is unique in that 42 strains have been identified, yet only one is under our control. So obviously there is a major lack of knowledge about pathogens and how to control them. According to the WRC report to the Ministry of the Environment, "the threat posed by an organism to contaminate water supplies and cause disease outbreaks still exists", and further, they state that "the threat posed by an organism, in terms of its presence and distribution in water sources as well as the ability to eliminate them are often poorly understood and/or completely unknown. Does this alarm anyone else? The mere thought that our government admits that there are diseases that we have no ability to control is alarming..