LOS ANGELES —-SANITATION OF THIRD WORLD CITY?

Lack of proper sanitation is a serious health threat today in the Third World and sadly and surprisingly in some US cities as well.  When humans lived in small migratory bands moving over the landscape in search of food and game...the problems of soiling food and drinking water with human wastes was minimal.  Our early ancestors dropped their excreta wherever they happened to be and moved on.  No problem!

But with the advent of agriculture, animal husbandry and the development of settled communities where large numbers of people congregated led to contamination of food and drinking water with human body wastes.  The problem must have immediately became apparent and deadly clear to these early settlements.  Those communities that did not address the problem simply died off from disease.

Human body wastes are about 30% bacteria (alive and dead) by weight.  Among the bacterial flora (they are plants) are healthful decay bacteria as well as disease bacteria.   Disease germs, both viruses and bacteria are phenomenally opportunistic.  They take advantage of every opening to invade and and infect and increase their populations.  The fecal-oral transmission route is one in which these bugs are best adapted to.  Even a tiny speck of fecal matter containing only normal decay bacteria that are found in the lower gut—even if dispersed in gallons and gallons of water— can produce awful digestive problems when they enter the stomach and small intestine. The result is diarrhea.  Not so bad you say?  But that disease is the prime cause of malnutrition and stunted growth in children in all third world countries.  But that is not all. Acarids (round worms and tape worms) which also lead to malnutrition and stunted growth in children are transmitted that way too.  As are other horrible diseases such as: cholera, hepatitis (all types) polio, schistosomiasis and trachoma to name only a few.

Even the ancient Romans understood the need for proper sanitation.  More than 2000 years ago Roman engineers insured  a surfeit  of fresh clean water running into the city from surrounding rivers and springs which fed public fountains via the famous aqueducts.  These sources were carefully protected from contamination.   They also built and maintained separate public baths, as well as large communal public toilets.  These toilets —were used by the entire population.  The toilets drained directly into the famous “cloaca  maxima” —the huge sewer system of Rome—that carried waste water away from the city—into the Tiber River.  No drinking of that river water was allowed. .  No doubt they had rats too.  But they didn’t permit the public to defecate or urinate on the streets.  Because of its advanced sanitation Rome and its population survived in mostly good health for more than 500 years.  It’s collapse came as a result of invasions of barbarians who in part did not have the same concern for sanitation.

Sanitation (the access to sanitary toilets and fresh potable drinking water) was deemed so important in 2010 the UN voted to establish it as a “human right”.  No so with the Los Angelenos!  Sadly this US city may be descending down into the ranks in sanitation of Third World Delhi, India where only 60% of the population has access to a toilet—the rest of the population  defecate where ever there is an open weedy lot.   You must watch where you step in those places and also there is no place to wash one’s hands in those dry lots.  Don’t forget how important that is —to thoroughly wash your hands afterward—-dirty hands are excellent at transmitting fecal bacteria onto doorknobs, computers, computer key boards, foodstuffs and anyplace humans puts their hands.

The ancients knew how dangerous the spread of human waste was—-they knew a city could not survive without strict controls on human waste and functioning sanitation systems.  What we are seeing in  Los Angeles and in San Francisco as well as other US cities where large populations of homeless congregate are unsustainable circumstances that will lead to health disasters.  

Ugh!!!!

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