A Public Health Physician, Dr Uthman Mubashir, on Thursday in Ilorin said water borne diseases could cause stunted growth in children.

Mubashir of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin.

He said that children infected even just once with a certain type of water borne parasite were nearly three times as likely to suffer from moderate or severe stunted growth by the age of two, than those who were not affected.

The expert, while corroborating the new John Hopkins, Bloomberg School of Public Health Research, noted that infected children experienced severe diarrhoea that was associated with the parasite. He explained that research in third world countries showed that children got infected with Cryptosporidium without necessarily having any symptoms at all.

Mubashir said in spite of the lack of symptoms, children experienced stunted growth in the first two years of life, leading to irreversible damage and contributing to poor cognitive development. "It could also lead to poor educational performance and reduced earning potential in adulthood, trapping individuals in a lifetime of poverty.

"Worldwide, an estimated 178 million children under five suffer from stunted growth, primarily in lower-income countries," Mubashir said. He attributed the spread of Cryptosporidium to lack of access to clean drinking water and proper toilets facilities.

According to him, it is resistant to chlorine, which is often used to clean water. While the physician said that diarrhoea was not only the resultant effect from Cryptosporidium, he noted the dehydration and malnutrition also could also lead to stunted growth.

He explained that while diarrhoea was certainly a problem, "infection with the parasite itself even if there are no diarrheal symptoms causes the malnutrition. "These children don't even get sick and their growth is stunted.

"The parasite is damaging the gut at this early age, making absorption of vital nutrients more difficult," he said. (NAN)