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Lake Victoria alert: Fast response vital
2007-10-03 08:37:21
By Editor
We are not sure how many people in Tanzania have gone through recent editions of Kenya`s Daily Nation and Uganda`s Daily Monitor, both authoritative publications.
However, we find it safe to assume that very few have.
Thus, we feel compelled to refer to recent reports from the Ugandan capital Kampala which have those publications quoting environment experts as warning that Lake Victoria is infested with a special group of bacteria scientifically known as microcystins that can cause liver cancer and diarrhoea.
The reports say experts have been trying to allay fears among members of the public by swearing that one contracts the diseases only upon drinking untreated water.
Until now, it appears that it is only in Uganda that research on the problem is being conducted, while Tanzania and Kenya also share the lake`s waters and could be equally vulnerable.
That is precisely why we think it is important that we too follow the findings by researchers in Uganda and start our own investigations if we are not already doing so.
Medical researchers and other experts say microcystins are a subgroup of bacteria that grow rapidly in water rich in plant nutrients, particularly during warm weather, leading to the production of masses of algae.
It is not too early for our own experts to contact Makerere University molecular biologist Samwel Majalija, who said in a signed newspaper article in August that the bacteria frequently release poisonous substances into water bodies.
The expert`s warning that the substances cause skin allergy, have a poisonous effect on the liver mainly in children and leave the nervous system poisoned are no joking matter.
But researchers have even worse news – that, once inside the human body, the bacteria travel to the liver via the bile acids transport system.
They add that it is in the liver that most are stored, while some remain in the blood stream usually contaminating tissues and triggering the development of liver cancer.
A more horrifying account by medical experts is that the abundance of the microcystins largely results from the excess plant nutrients channelled into the lake.
And what is the source of these nutrients?
Here comes the bombshell: farms, fish and food processing factories, tanneries, mines, flower gardens, soap, beverage and detergent factories around the lake, most of which reportedly do not meet basic waste treatment standards.
As we have noted above, it is quite possible that all this is news to millions of people in Tanzania – even medical experts and residents of the regions forming the Lake Victoria corridor.
We know of the existence of various initiatives meant to safeguard, decontaminate and develop the lake and the wealth of resources it is home to.
Drawing from the experience of the researchers and other experts in Uganda would make those initiatives all the more feasible, focused and utilitarian.
The bottom line is that we are in for a health crisis and must appreciate the gravity of the problem and contribute to efforts to solve it.
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