Samenvatting

Waterborne diseases are posing a constant threat for people. In developing countries there is a lack of microbiologically safe drinking water and in the developed countries there are occasional waterborne disease outbreaks. These diseases are caused by bacteria or parasites which can be found in various environments, such as drinking water, surface water, waste water etc., when the water is contaminated with human and animal waste.Waterborne diseases are in correlation with the state of environment – e.g. with surface water quality. The One Health concept focuses on the relationships between the health of humans and the health of animals and the environment (1). There are several examples that show evidence for the influence of the environment on human health. For instance, animals can pass diseases to humans – these diseases are known as zoonotic diseases such as Rabies, Salmonella infection and West Nile virus fever.In recent years many factors changed in the interactions between humans, animals, and the environment. For example, people migrate to cities where there is no treatment for wastewater (developing countries) or intensive farming with the use of antibiotics (developed countries) releases antibiotic into the environment as well as provides different quality of food products for human consumption. These changes caused the emergence and reemergence of many diseases.