Milken Institute School of Public Health Poster Presentations (Marvin Center & Video)
Microbial Contamination in Household Water Storage and Diarrhea in Developing Countries
Poster Number
66
Document Type
Poster
Publication Date
3-2016
Abstract
Annually it is estimated that there are 1.7 billion cases of diarrhea around the world every year, killing over 750,000 children under five. Diarrheal disease is most prevalent in developing countries as it is attributed to poor water quality. This review examines contamination levels at communal improved water sources and water stored at the household and their associations with diarrheal disease. Past studies have found a significant increase in contamination from the source to the household. However, there has been a global increase in improved water sources over the past decade. This study is the first to reflect the changes in global improved water infrastructure and its impact on household water contamination. The literature search was conducted using the PRISMA method. The study examined 20 articles that measured either total coliforms or E. coli in water at the source and household. Including studies that measure the prevalence of household diarrhea cases. A search of Scopus and PubMed provided a total of 503 citations. After reviewing abstracts for inclusion criteria, 21 studies remained. Of the remaining articles, 4 were discarded because the full text was not available for review. An additional 3 studies were added after looking through references of the included studies. Across the included studies there was a 64.5% and 39% increase in total coliforms and E. coli from source to household, respectively. Associations were found between microbiologic contamination of household storage and diarrheal diseases. The results show that increasing the access to improved water sources, alone, are not sufficient in lowering the prevalence of diarrheal disease. Household water use and storage technique greatly impact the quality of water. Interventions aimed to decrease the prevalence of diarrhea must impact the quality of water storage, hygiene in the household, and point of use treatment.
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Open Access
1
Microbial Contamination in Household Water Storage and Diarrhea in Developing Countries
Annually it is estimated that there are 1.7 billion cases of diarrhea around the world every year, killing over 750,000 children under five. Diarrheal disease is most prevalent in developing countries as it is attributed to poor water quality. This review examines contamination levels at communal improved water sources and water stored at the household and their associations with diarrheal disease. Past studies have found a significant increase in contamination from the source to the household. However, there has been a global increase in improved water sources over the past decade. This study is the first to reflect the changes in global improved water infrastructure and its impact on household water contamination. The literature search was conducted using the PRISMA method. The study examined 20 articles that measured either total coliforms or E. coli in water at the source and household. Including studies that measure the prevalence of household diarrhea cases. A search of Scopus and PubMed provided a total of 503 citations. After reviewing abstracts for inclusion criteria, 21 studies remained. Of the remaining articles, 4 were discarded because the full text was not available for review. An additional 3 studies were added after looking through references of the included studies. Across the included studies there was a 64.5% and 39% increase in total coliforms and E. coli from source to household, respectively. Associations were found between microbiologic contamination of household storage and diarrheal diseases. The results show that increasing the access to improved water sources, alone, are not sufficient in lowering the prevalence of diarrheal disease. Household water use and storage technique greatly impact the quality of water. Interventions aimed to decrease the prevalence of diarrhea must impact the quality of water storage, hygiene in the household, and point of use treatment.
Comments
Presented at: GW Research Days 2016