The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of surgical hand rubbing (SHR) with the efficacy of surgical hand scrubbing (SHS), and to determine the costs of both techniques for surgical hand disinfection. A review of studies reported in the literature that compared the efficacy of SHS and SHR was performed using MEDLINE. The costs of SHR and SHS were estimated based on standard hospital c...

INTRODUCTION Safe disposal of TB culture material in which the infectious burden of clinical samples has been greatly amplified is an important challenge in resource-limited settings. The bactericidal capacity of solar cookers has been demonstrated previously for conventional bacteria and contaminated clinical waste. We investigated the use of a simple solar cooker for the sterilization of myco...

A novel type of solar thermal water disinfection unit is presented in this work. The system is safe and easy to use and can be built with basic tools and widely available materials. In the unit, water is disinfected by temperature increase up to the boiling point and output is controlled by the change in density. For employing the change in density to control the water output, a dimensioning pr...

Solar disinfection (SODIS) of drinking water in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles is a simple, efficient point-of-use technique for the inactivation of many bacterial pathogens. In contrast, the efficiency of SODIS against viruses is not well known. In this work, we studied the inactivation of bacteriophages (MS2 and ϕX174) and human viruses (echovirus 11 and adenovirus type 2) by SODIS....

OBJECTIVES To use a psychological theory of behavioural change to measure and interpret the effectiveness of different promotional strategies for achieving long-term usage of a household water treatment and safe storage (HWTS) system in peri-urban Zimbabwe. STUDY DESIGN Solar disinfection (SODIS) was introduced into five peri-urban communities near Harare, Zimbabwe. Six different intervention...

Scarcity of drinking water in the coastal area of Bangladesh compels the inhabitants to be highly dependent on alternative water supply options like rainwater harvesting system (RWHS), pond sand filter (PSF), and rain-feed ponds. Susceptibility of these alternative water supply options to microbial contamination demands a low-cost water treatment technology. This study evaluates the effectivene...