Hands, water, and health: fecal contamination in Tanzanian communities with improved, non-networked water supplies.

نویسندگان

  • Amy J Pickering
  • Jennifer Davis
  • Sarah P Walters
  • Helena M Horak
  • Daniel P Keymer
  • Douglas Mushi
  • Rachelle Strickfaden
  • Joshua S Chynoweth
  • Jessie Liu
  • Annalise Blum
  • Kirsten Rogers
  • Alexandria B Boehm
چکیده

Almost half of the world's population relies on non-networked water supply services, which necessitates in-home water storage. It has been suggested that dirty hands play a role in microbial contamination of drinking water during collection, transport, and storage. However, little work has been done to evaluate quantitatively the association between hand contamination and stored water quality within households. This study measured levels of E. coli, fecal streptococci, and occurrence of the general Bacteroidales fecal DNA marker in source water, in stored water, and on hands in 334 households among communities in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where residents use non-networked water sources. Levels of fecal contamination on hands of mothers and children were positively correlated to fecal contamination in stored drinking water within households. Household characteristics associated with hand contamination included mother's educational attainment, use of an improved toilet, an infant in the household, and dissatisfaction with the quantity of water available for hygiene. In addition, fecal contamination on hands was associated with the prevalence of gastrointestinal and respiratory symptoms within a household. The results suggest that reducing fecal contamination on hands should be investigated as a strategy for improving stored drinking water quality and health among households using non-networked water supplies.

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

Bacterial hand contamination among Tanzanian mothers varies temporally and following household activities.

OBJECTIVE To characterize mechanisms of hand contamination with faecal indicator bacteria and to assess the presence of selected pathogens on mothers' hands in Tanzania. METHODS A household observational study combined with repeated microbiological hand rinse sampling was conducted among 119 mothers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. All hand rinse samples were analysed for enterococci and Escherich...

متن کامل

Association of Supply Type with Fecal Contamination of Source Water and Household Stored Drinking Water in Developing Countries: A Bivariate Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND Access to safe drinking water is essential for health. Monitoring access to drinking water focuses on water supply type at the source, but there is limited evidence on whether quality differences at the source persist in water stored in the household. OBJECTIVES We assessed the extent of fecal contamination at the source and in household stored water (HSW) and explored the relation...

متن کامل

Human and Animal Fecal Contamination of Community Water Sources, Stored Drinking Water and Hands in Rural India Measured with Validated Microbial Source Tracking Assays

We examined pathways of exposure to fecal contamination of human and animal origin in 24 villages in Odisha, India. In a cross-sectional study during the monsoon season, fecal exposure via community water sources (N = 123) and in the home (N = 137) was assessed using human- and nonhuman-associated Bacteroidales microbial source tracking (MST) markers and fecal coliforms (FCs). Detection rates a...

متن کامل

Promoting Household Water Treatment through Women's Self Help Groups in Rural India: Assessing Impact on Drinking Water Quality and Equity

Household water treatment, including boiling, chlorination and filtration, has been shown effective in improving drinking water quality and preventing diarrheal disease among vulnerable populations. We used a case-control study design to evaluate the extent to which the commercial promotion of household water filters through microfinance institutions to women's self-help group (SHG) members imp...

متن کامل

Enteric Pathogens in Stored Drinking Water and on Caregiver’s Hands in Tanzanian Households with and without Reported Cases of Child Diarrhea

BACKGROUND Diarrhea is one of the leading causes of mortality in young children. Diarrheal pathogens are transmitted via the fecal-oral route, and for children the majority of this transmission is thought to occur within the home. However, very few studies have documented enteric pathogens within households of low-income countries. METHODS AND FINDINGS The presence of molecular markers for th...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

عنوان ژورنال:
  • Environmental science & technology

دوره 44 9  شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2010