Any container, tank or filter used for drinking water therefore must be disinfected regularly and any water stored for drinking should be stored cool or only stored for a short time. The softening process was seen to cause a 15-fold increase in 22 degrees C and 36 degrees C Heterotrophic plate counts. Also viral outbreaks are a growing concern. Unlike bacterial infections, which can be fought with antibiotics, there are none for viral diseases. Viruses, with the ability to mutate and replicate fast, are increasingly difficult to contain.
Polluted water provides one of the ways in which viral diseases spread.
Chief among them is viral Hepatitis A, which can be contracted from drinking dirty water or eating contaminated seafood. Epidemics of viral Hepatitis A in the past few decades have led to illness and death in populous cities all around the world. In 1988, for instance, there were 300,000 cases of viral Hepatitis A with 47 deaths reported in Shanghai. Pathogenic viruses like Adenoviruses and the Enteroviruses, including Coxsackie B viruses, are suspected to be associated with childhood deaths, but normal surveillance system do not capture these life-threatening microbial infections. These viruses can cause many symptoms including rashes, fever, gastroenteritis, myocarditis, meningitis, respiratory disease and hepatitis.