In many countries, drinking water is often less reliable than you are used to at home. Contaminated water can contain protozoa (single-celled organisms), bacteria and viruses. For drinking water contaminated with microorganisms, one harmful organism can already pose a health risk. For example, infectious diseases of particularly the gastrointestinal tract, such as diarrhoea, typhoid, cholera and hepatitis A.
When purifying water, it is important to deactivate protozoa, bacteria and viruses. Boiling water is an easy and effective method. However, this is time-consuming and not always possible. Deactivating protozoa and bacteria can be done with membrane 0.1-0.5 micron (pore diameter) filter. Deactivating bacteria and viruses can be done with the chemical treatment of sodium hypochlorite, such as drinking water disinfectant Hadex®. The Hadex® chlorine solution does not affect protozoa.
