Drinking Water Investigation of Hill Tribes: A Case Study in Northern Thailand

Suntorn Sudsandee,Tawatchai Apidechkul,Vivat Keawdounglek,Pussadee Laor,Krailak Fakkaew,Suwalee Worakhunpiset

doi:10.3390/ijerph17051698

Abstract

Hill tribes are a group of people who live in remote areas in northern Thailand. They typically use untreated water for drinking, that can lead several health problems. The six main hill tribes—Akha, Hmong, Karen, Lahu, Lisu, and Yao—were selected for the study. A validated questionnaire was used for data collection. Water samples were collected from the selected villages and tested for the quality at Mae Fah Luang University, Thailand. Results: the major sources of drinking water were mountain water supplies (74.3%), and commercial bottled water (21.4%). Easy access, sufficiency for the whole year, and food-drug administration sign labeled were the criteria used for selecting sources of drinking water. Colorless and safety were also used as a selection criteria for their drinking water in some tribes. Lisu, Karen, and Hmong treated their drinking water by boiling, while Akha and Lahu stored the water in certain containers to allow particle settling before drinking water without treatment. 42.0% of the water samples had a turbidity values <5 NTU, and total coliform and fecal coliform bacteria were detected in 100.0% of the samples. To prevent water-borne diseases among the hill tribe people, appropriate water treatments such as boiling, filtration, and disinfection are recommended.

Highlights

Adequate and safe water supply, especially drinking water, must be available for all people, which can result in a benefit to health and boost countries’ economic growth as well as contribute greatly to poverty reduction
This study aims to investigate the system of drinking water management, and detect its quality, including
The hill tribe people are the group of people who live in the high mountains, and in the remote areas where they live it is definitely difficult to access clean drinking water

Summary

Introduction

Adequate and safe water supply, especially drinking water, must be available for all people, which can result in a benefit to health and boost countries’ economic growth as well as contribute greatly to poverty reduction. In 2017, about 5.3 billion people had access to safely managed drinking-water services, but the remaining 2.2 billion people still do not have that access. People who live in mountainous area, especially in low-income countries, informal, or illegal settlements usually have less access to safe drinking water than other residents [1,2,3]. The lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation accounted for 88.0% of all deaths from diarrheal disease, especially in children under five years [4,5]. Drinking water contamination originates from human and animal wastes from defecation close to water sources [6], cross-contamination from sewage lines [7], sewage disposal

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Conclusion