Consumption Of Unsafe Water Research Articles

Do Biomass Fuel Use and Consumption of Unsafe Water Mediate Socioeconomic Differences in Stillbirth Risk? An Analysis of the 2007 Ghana Maternal Health Survey

Do Biomass Fuel Use and Consumption of Unsafe Water Mediate Socioeconomic Differences in Stillbirth Risk? An Analysis of the 2007 Ghana Maternal Health SurveyAbstract Number:2446 Adeladza Kofi Amegah* and Jouni Jaakkola Adeladza Kofi Amegah* University of Oulu, Finland, E-mail Address: [email protected] Search for more papers by this author and Jouni Jaakkola University of Oulu, Finland, E-mail Address: [email protected] Search for more papers by this author AbstractBackground: Stillbirth is a major public health problem in developing countries with 98% of the global stillbirth cases found in these countries. Previous studies have provided evidence of several environmental and hereditary determinants of stillbirth, but clearly socioeconomic factors seem to play a very important role. Numerous studies have explored the association between socioeconomic characteristics and stillbirth but most have failed to explain how low socioeconomic status (SES) leads to an increased risk of stillbirth. We hypothesized that household use of biomass fuels and unsafe drinking water resources related to low SES could explain the stillbirth burden in Ghana attributable to socioeconomic disadvantage. Method: Data from the 2007 Ghana Maternal Health Survey, a nationally representative population-based survey were analyzed for this study. A total of 10,370 women age 15-49 years were interviewed, with information on the household and socioeconomic characteristics, and a wide range of maternal health-related issues collected from both mothers and household heads in structured questionnaires. We used maternal education as a proxy for SES.Results: Applying generalized linear models adjusting for potential confounders, lower maternal primary education was associated with a 51% (Prevalence ratio [PR] = 1.51; 95% CI: 1.00, 2.27) increased lifetime risk of stillbirth with biomass fuel use and consumption of unsafe water mediating 18% and 8% of the observed socioeconomic effects. Jointly these two exposures explained 24% of the observed effects. In an adjusted multinomial logistic regression analysis, low educational attainment was found not to be risk factor for two or more stillbirth experiences in a woman’s lifetime.Conclusions: Our results show the importance of addressing socioeconomic inequalities in developing countries so as to ensure household choices that curtail environmental exposures, and ultimately improve pregnancy outcomes.

Waterborne parasites: a current status from the Philippines.

BackgroundDespite the amount of awareness created, waterborne disease still poses threat, especially in developing countries. Due to the scarcity of reported data on waterborne parasites, the consumption of unsafe water prolongs. Thus, the occurrences of waterborne parasites from various samples were investigated from one of the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines.MethodsA total of thirty three samples, each consisting of twelve liters, were collected and processed to obtain the sediment. Ten liters of sample each was processed to detect Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. using an immunomagnetic separation method prior to enumeration via fluorescence microscope. Meanwhile, the remaining two liters were cultured to detect Acanthamoeba and Naegleria through microscopy examination and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis.ResultsTwelve samples (36.4%) from river (5), swimming pool (1), pond (3), rain tank (1), and natural lake (2) were positive for Cryptosporidium spp., 17 (45.5%) samples from river (9), pond (2), swimming pool (1), rain tank (1), and natural lake (4) were positive for Giardia spp. while, 13 (33.3%) samples from river (3), swimming pool (2), pond (2), dispenser (1), well (1), tap (2) and natural lake (2) were positive for Acanthamoeba spp. and 5 (18.2%) samples from river (1), natural lake (1), tap (1), dispenser (1) and mineral (1) were Naegleria spp. positive. Physical parameters such as temperature, conductivity, total dissolved solid (TDS), salinity, dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, and turbidity and chemical parameters such as ammonia, chlorine, fluoride, nitrate and nitrite were also measured. The highest chemical contamination was observed at pond 2. A good correlation was observed between Giardia and nitrite (r = 0.736, p < 0.01) and Giardia and nitrate (r = 0.502, p < 0.01).ConclusionThis study was aimed to create greater awareness of parasitic contamination in the water environment in the Philippines and also to act as a platform of the current scenario for policymakers as water pollution is a key health issue in this region.

Biological sand filters: low-cost bioremediation technique for production of clean drinking water.

Approximately 1.1 billion people in rural and peri-urban communities of developing countries do not have access to safe drinking water. The mortality from diarrheal-related diseases amounts to ∼2.2 million people each year from the consumption of unsafe water. Most of them are children under 5 years of age--250 deaths an hour from microbiologically contaminated water. There is conclusive evidence that one low-cost household bioremediation intervention, use of biological sand filters, is capable of dramatically improving the microbiological quality of drinking water. This unit will describe this relatively new and proven bioremediation technology's ability to empower at-risk populations to use naturally occurring biological principles and readily available materials as a sustainable way to achieve the health benefits of safe drinking water.

Outbreak Investigation of Cholera in a Slum of Northern India

Cholera is one of the oldest and best understood endemic diseases. An actual bacterial enteric disease, it is characterized in its severe form by sudden onset, profuse painless watery stools (rice-water stool), nausea and profuse vomiting early in the course of illness. Endemic and pandemics are strongly linked to the consumption of unsafe water, poor hygiene, poor sanitation and crowded living conditions. A rapid survey was conducted for the outbreak investigation on August 4, 2008. The objectives were to investigate the outbreak, risk factors for cholera and recommend control measures immediately. Questionnaire based random convenient sample based investigative study. 60 families were contacted by the public health students. Approximate 300 individuals were screened for cholera cases. Simultaneously six water samples were also collected from the contacted family. Microbiological test for Vibrio cholera and E. coli was conducted. Randomly six water samples were collected from the Rajive colony. Microbiological test for Vibrio cholera and E. coli was conducted from the department of Microbiology, PU. Vibrio cholera and E. coli were found absent, in all the samples. One sample was found positive for unidentified bacteria.

Evaluation of risk communication for rural water supply management: a case study of a coastal area of Bangladesh

Consumption of safe drinking water is an important public health issue. In this study, we considered the risk communication topic of human health concerns related to unsafe water consumption in rural coastal areas of Bangladesh, where potable water is scarce. Our objective was to investigate the level of knowledge that rural residents had concerning safe water consumption and to evaluate the effects of risk communication on knowledge and behavior changes. We considered four rural villages of southwest coastal areas of Bangladesh as sample. This study was based on the results of a questionnaire survey administered before and after risk communication. The pre- and post-survey were conducted during August 2009 and March 2010, respectively. Data were collected from 120 women aged 18–60 years. Two format presentations, with and without water quality information, were used to convey the risk messages. In the present study, indicator bacterial (Escherichia coli) contamination levels in drinking water sources were considered as water quality information since absence of E. coli is the safety margin for the detection of disease-causing organisms. Analysis of the survey data revealed that risk communication can be vital to changes in water consumption knowledge and behavior. Overall general knowledge scores were almost same in the pre-survey for without- (mean score 3.16) and with-information (mean score 3.10) villages. However, after risk communication, there were detectable increases in the mean scores (mean scores, 3.54 and 3.64, respectively, on a 4 point scale) for both groups. Furthermore, risk communication with water quality information appears to be a more effective method of risk communication. Dissemination of risk messages was also higher in with-information villages. Seventy four percent of the participants from with-information villages reported that they had discussed the risk messages with family members and neighbors, compared to 59% of those from without-information villages. The results of this study revealed that age, education, and distance of water sources influence changes in consumption and maintenance behavior. These findings suggest that, in addition to installation of water supply facilities, there is a need to address the low levels of knowledge about safe water consumption in rural coastal communities of Bangladesh. Location specific water quality information may be more useful to convey health risk messages concerning unsafe drinking water consumption.

Biological Sand Filters: Low‐Cost Bioremediation Technique for Production of Clean Drinking Water

Approximately 1.1 billion people in rural and peri-urban communities of developing countries do not have access to safe drinking water. The mortality from diarrheal-related diseases amounts to approximately 2.2 million people each year from the consumption of unsafe water. Most of them are children under 5 years of age-250 deaths an hour from microbiologically contaminated water. There is conclusive evidence that one low-cost household bioremediation intervention, biological sand filters, are capable of dramatically improving the microbiological quality of drinking water. This unit will describe this relatively new and proven bioremediation technology's ability to empower at-risk populations to use naturally occurring biology and readily available materials as a sustainable way to achieve the health benefits of safe drinking water.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL DIMENSIONS OF STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMMES: MISSING LINKS TO SUSTAINING DEVELOPMENT

ABSTRACTThe implementation of structural adjustment programmes has not paid sufficient attention to the environmental effects of prescribed reforms. Agriculture is often the largest sector contributing significantly to the generation of export revenue and the gross domestic product in many adjusting countries, including Ghana. Structural adjustments in this sector aim at removing constraints to productivity. In Ghana, these reforms include producer price increases, market liberalisation and exchange rate reforms. This paper examines the environmental effects of raised farmgate prices for cocoa and cotton cultivation. It argues that these policies have encouraged agricultural extensification, particularly given the main type of farming (slash and burn agriculture) practised in Ghana. Environmental degradation is occurring in many areas. Furthermore, cuts in public expenditure and the institution of cost‐recovery schemes for previously subsidised services such as rural water supply may reduce farmers’ disposable incomes and their ability to pay for these services. Consumption of unsafe water exposes farmers to preventable water and hygiene related diseases which, given the high cost of medical services, may worsen poverty and further encourage agricultural extensification.