World News and Trends: Bacteria, parasites, viruses threatening U.S. water
Microscopic waterborne organisms are replacing potential cancer-causing chemicals as the primary threat to drinking water in some U.S. cities, according to health officials.
Microscopic waterborne organisms are replacing potential cancer-causing chemicals as the primary threat to drinking water in some U.S. cities, according to health officials.
"Most of these organisms have been around for eons, but we're just now beginning to detect them," said Dennis Juranek of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He noted that more people are aware of the problem because of reports of serious illness and deaths caused by microbial complications.
The centers estimate that up to 1,000 people die annually and as many as a million are sickened from microbial illnesses stemming from drinking water. In 1993 some 100 people died in Milwaukee from water containing cryptosporidium, an organism resistant to chlorine, the disinfectant most effective and most widely used for drinking water in the United States.
Most healthy people are relatively unaffected by ingesting such bacteria, parasites and viruses and may feel discomfort that can be mistaken for intestinal viruses. However, for those with weakened immune systems unable to fight off bacterial attack-such as cancer patients, the elderly and those suffering from HIV-related infections-water containing such organisms can be fatal, as was shown in Milwaukee.
Even in Washington, D.C., residents have expressed concerns about their drinking water since the city's aging water pipes were found to harbor large concentrations of bacteria.
Many of these organisms have only recently been detected, and efforts are under way to study them to find ways to prevent further threat to the nation's drinking-water supplies. (Source: The Associated Press.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: November - December 1996
Course Content
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
Scott Ashley
Scott Ashley was managing editor of Beyond Today magazine, United Church of God booklets and its printed Bible Study Course until his retirement in 2023. He also pastored three congregations in Colorado for 10 years from 2011-2021. He and his wife, Connie, live near Denver, Colorado.
Mr. Ashley attended Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas, graduating in 1976 with a theology major and minors in journalism and speech. It was there that he first became interested in publishing, an industry in which he worked for 50 years.
During his career, he has worked for several publishing companies in various capacities. He was employed by the United Church of God from 1995-2023, overseeing the planning, writing, editing, reviewing and production of Beyond Today magazine, several dozen booklets/study guides and a Bible study course covering major biblical teachings. His special interests are the Bible, archaeology, biblical culture, history and the Middle East.
