Cause of cancer in East Africa discovered

Cancer is one of the top killer diseases in East Africa, blamed for nearly 100,000 deaths every year. But do you know why you could be at risk of the killer disease?

In this article, scientists expressed concerns that the widespread use of groundwater for cooking, cleaning and bathing poses a risk for the residents.

Almost 99% of the water that is readily available for human use is buried in soil, sand, and rocks. This groundwater is relied upon by at least half of Kenyans and East Africans for hydration every day but is extremely vulnerable to pollution.

Researchers from IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, have found traces of 25 DNA virus families in underground water in the slums of Kampala and Arusha with some of them having adverse health risk for humans.

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The study found that most groundwater in the two slums contains traces of herpes virus, poxvirus and papilloma virus.

papilloma virus could be one of the causes of cancer in East Africa.

“These viruses have never been found on such a large scale in groundwater.

Perhaps it is because there has never been an in-depth analysis,” said Dr Jan Willem Foppen, one of the lead researchers and a hydrologist at the IHE Delft — the largest graduate water education institution on the planet.

In the two-year study, the scientists analysed surface water (river and drain), spring water, wells and piezometers (groundwater from specific depth) in the three countries.

“We found 25 DNA virus families, of which 14 are from above ground hosts like frogs, mice, rats, cows, horses, monkeys and humans,” Dr Foppen said.

Of the human disease causing pathogens found in the samples, herpes virus and poxviruses can lead to skin infections while the papilloma cause some types of cancers such as cervical, laryngeal and mouth.

“This could be just a tip of the iceberg. We have not found all the viruses. We found the most abundant ones,” Dr Fopen said.

“Let’s do something about sanitation. Let us improve our sources of drinking water and identify new pathways with communities towards sustainability.”

What can be done to stop pollution of underground water?