Waterborne pathogens live and grow in the intestines of infected people.

Waterborne pathogens live and grow in the intestines of infected people.

• A. False
• B. True
• C. Only some pathogens reside there
• D. Not applicable

Answer: (B)

Pathogens that contaminate water often come from the human gut. When someone is infected with an enteric pathogen, it is shed in feces and can enter water supplies if sanitation isn’t adequate. Inside the human body, many of these organisms colonize and multiply in the intestines, producing large numbers that are released with stool. That fecal-oral route is a major way water becomes contaminated, so the statement is true: waterborne pathogens originate from and can grow in the intestines of infected people, which is why protecting water from fecal contamination is so important.

Pathogens that contaminate water often come from the human gut. When someone is infected with an enteric pathogen, it is shed in feces and can enter water supplies if sanitation isn’t adequate. Inside the human body, many of these organisms colonize and multiply in the intestines, producing large numbers that are released with stool. That fecal-oral route is a major way water becomes contaminated, so the statement is true: waterborne pathogens originate from and can grow in the intestines of infected people, which is why protecting water from fecal contamination is so important.