Water Sources Research Articles

Seroepidemiological survey of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia among cattle in El Jazeera State (Central Sudan)

BackgroundContagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) is an economically important infectious disease that is characterized by a variable course and insidious nature. A cross-sectional study was conducted in El Jazeera State, Central Sudan, to determine the seroprevalence and risk factors of CBPP in cattle from seven localities. A total of 218 serum samples were randomly collected from apparently healthy cattle aged older than 6 months between April and May 2021 and were tested serologically using a commercial ELISA kit.ResultsThe overall seroprevalence of CBPP was 50.5% (110/218). Univariate analysis showed a significant difference (p < 0.05) between sex, locality and water source and seropositivity to CBPP. Multivariate analysis revealed that the independent risk factors (sex, locality and water source) were also statistically significant (p < 0.05). At herd level, out of 20 herds 16 (80%) proved to be positive for CBPP antibodies. It is apparent from the present study that CBPP infection is prevalent among cattle in El Jazeera State, Central Sudan.ConclusionsTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first seroepidemiological study on CBPP infection in Central Sudan. The authors recommend major awareness both in the production area and quarantine centers, as CBPP may result in restrictions on the international trade of animals and animal products.

Peroxymonosulfate activation by superparamagnetic mixed-valent Cu/N-(L-cysteine)-O-(carboxymethyl)chitosan/cobalt ferrate-rice hull hybrid nanocomposite for efficient degradation of naproxen: Synergetic adsorption-catalysis, kinetics, pathway, and relevant mechanism.

Naproxen (NPX) as an emerging anthropogenic contaminant was detected in many water sources, which can pose a serious threat to the environment and human health. Peroxymonosulfate (PMS) decomposed by Cu(I) has been considered an effective activation method to produce reactive species. However, this decontamination process is restricted by the slow transformation of Cu(II)/Cu(I) by PMS. Herein, new N-(L-cysteine/triazine)-O-(carboxymethyl)-chitosan/cobalt ferrate-rice hull hybrid biocomposite was constructed to anchor the mixed-valent Cu(I)-Cu (II) (CuI, II-CCCF) for removing pharmaceutical pollutants (i.e., naproxen, ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, levofloxacin, and paracetamol). The structural, morphological, and catalytic properties of the CuI,II-CCCF have been fully identified by a series of physicochemical characterizations. Results demonstrated that the multifunctional, hydrophilic character, and negative ζ-potential of the activator, accelerating the redox cycle of Cu(II)/Cu(I) with hydroxyl amine (HA). The negligible metal leaching, well-balanced thermodynamic-kinetic properties, and efficient adsorption-catalysis synergy are the main reasons for the significantly enhanced catalytic performance of CuI,II-CCCF in the removal of NPX (98.6 % at 7.0 min). The main active species in the catalytic degradation of NPX were identified (●OH > SO4●- > 1O2 > > O2●-) and consequently suggested a degradation path. It can be noted that these types of carbohydrate-based nanocomposite offer numerous advantages, encompassing simple preparation, excellent decontamination capabilities, and long-term stability.

Coordinated emission reduction strategy of water pollution and carbon emissions in the South-to-North Water Diversion Project based on a differential game model

ABSTRACT This study investigates the green development of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project (SNWDP) by exploring the synergistic reduction of water pollution and carbon emissions. Firstly, a differential game model is constructed to reduce pollution and carbon in the water supply chain. Secondly, the emission reduction strategies of water source and receiving areas under centralized and decentralized decision models are compared and analyzed and a cost-sharing contract is designed to coordinate the supply chain. Finally, numerical analysis is used to compare and analyze the important parameters to draw conclusions. The results show that: (1) Collaboration between water source and receiving areas influences emission reduction efforts, with the highest achieved under the centralized model. (2) The cost-sharing contract improves efforts and addresses ‘free-riding’ in the decentralized model. (3) The SNWDP can achieve a win-win situation in terms of both environmental and economic benefits by promoting the synergy of pollution reduction and carbon reduction.

Investigation the Level of Groundwater Pollution with Heavy Metals in Mazar-e-Sharif City

The majority of drinking and consumable water sources for the residents of Mazar-e-Sharif city are supplied from underground water. Climate variations, depletion of underground water, pollution resulting from human activities, agriculture, industrial processes, and urban development have significantly impacted the quality of underground water in this region. In this research, the quality of groundwater in terms of contamination with heavy metals such as manganese, copper, aluminum, iron, cadmium, mercury, lead, and arsenic was investigated. Twenty-four random well samples were collected based on international sampling standards, and temperature and pH parameters were measured on-site. The concentration of heavy metals was measured using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Data analysis was performed using Excel and SPSS software, and GIS software was utilized for mapping the sampled points. Laboratory results indicated that the lead concentration in wells W6, W11, W20, and W22 was 0.014, 0.013, 0.02, and 0.012 milligrams per liter, respectively. The aluminum concentration in wells W5, W16, and W17 was 0.6, 0.5, and 0.4 milligrams per liter, respectively, and the cadmium concentration in well W3 was 0.005 milligrams per liter. The concentrations in these wells exceeded the recommended limits set by the World Health Organization (WHO). In the remaining wells, the concentrations of heavy metals were below the WHO limits. Descriptive statistics results showed that copper had the highest average concentration, and arsenic had the lowest concentration. Since underground water is the sole source of drinking and consumable water for the city's residents, it is recommended to conduct a systematic study of heavy metal concentrations in groundwater sources to reduce the adverse effects of contaminated water in certain wells.

Removal of Heavy Metal Ions(Fe2+, Mn2+, Cu2+ and Zn2+) on to Activated Carbon Prepared from Kashmiri Walnut Shell (Juglans regia)

Heavy metal pollution poses significant threats to the environment and human health, even at trace concentrations. In this study, activated carbon derived from Kashmiri walnut shell (Juglans regia) was investigated for its potential to adsorb heavy metal ions (Fe2+, Mn2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+). Standard solutions containing heavy metal ions at concentrations ranging from 10 to 50 ppm were prepared for adsorption experiments, i.e., at temperature 25 °C, and adsorbent dosage 1 g using a column mechanism. The activated carbon was first treated with 0.1M HCl and 0.5M ammonia solutions, and then washed with demineralised water. Subsequently, the metal ion solutions were passed through the column individually, and the filtrates were analyzed for heavy metal ion presence. The experimental results demonstrated that walnut shell-derived activated carbon exhibited promising adsorption capacity spanning from 0.36 mg/g for Zn2+, 0.5 mg/g for both Mn2+ and Cu2+ and 0.54 mg/g for Fe2+ thus showing the adsorption trend as Fe2+ &gt; Mn2+ = Cu2+ &gt; Zn2+. This study highlights the potential of using walnut shell-derived activated carbon as an effective and cost-efficient method for mitigating heavy metal pollution in contaminated water sources.

Pilot-scale foam and cast-coated nanocellulose filters for water treatment

AbstractA large variety of substances, for instance heavy metal ions from different sources including mining, industry, and agricultural activities, pollute fresh water sources. Bio-based adsorbents, such as cellulose nanofibers (CNF), have recently been introduced in the process of treating water to remove hazardous pollutants primarily owing to their natural abundance, non-toxicity, and renewability. Surface modification of CNF, e.g. by catalytically oxidising the primary C6-OH groups of CNF selectively into carboxylic (COO−) groups with TEMPO, yields materials that are effective in adsorbing positively charged heavy metal ions, e.g. Cu ions. However, to utilise CNF in continuous processes beyond static, batch-wise adsorption, in particular on (pre-)industrial scale, they need to be immobilised on filter substrates in thin layers and an efficient manner. In this work, we report bio-adsorbent-based filters prepared by coating TEMPO-CNF on viscose filters using two different pilot-scale coating approaches, foam and cast coating. The performance of TEMPO-CNF filters was evaluated in terms of their water permeance as well as adsorption of metal ions including Cu(II) and Ca(II). By foam coating thin layers could be fabricated in a time efficient way facilitating high adsorption capacities (52 mg g−1), whilst by cast coating higher amounts of TEMPO-CNF could be deposited allowing for adsorbing higher absolute amounts (280 mg m−2) of heavy metal ions. Graphical abstract

The Main Impact Factors for the Propagation from Meteorological Drought to Socio-Economic Drought from the Perspective of a Small Area, Based on a Practical Survey

Drought is one of the most frequent types of natural disasters in the world, and it has been classified into several different categories. Generally, meteorological drought is considered to be the beginning of a drought disaster, while socio-economic drought is the possible ultimate result. However, controversy remains around the main impact factors in the propagation from meteorological drought to socio-economic drought over the past decades. In this study, a comprehensive investigation of the 2022 drought event in the city of Lishui, China was conducted to build a model for analyzing the main impact factors in the propagation from meteorological drought to socio-economic drought. The results showed that the 2022 drought event had a great impact on the city’s socio-economic activities. According to governmental reports on socio-economic drought and basic information on water sources, a random forest attribution analysis model was built. The model demonstrated a great performance in distinguishing whether a socio-economic drought had occurred, with an accuracy of 0.9935, a true positive rate of 0.9489 and a false positive rate of 0.0021. Additionally, the variables related to water sources—including drainage area, covered population and daily water supply volume—were found to be more important than the other variables related to meteorological conditions in the model, meaning that the capacity of water sources is the main impact factor in the propagation between meteorological drought and socio-economic drought. In other words, it is feasible to prevent the propagation of meteorological drought to socio-economic drought through water conservancy engineering construction.

Evaluation of phosphate insecticides and common herbicides: monitoring and risk assessment in water treatment plant, distribution networks, and underground water wells

ABSTRACT Despite the negative effects that the use of pesticides (such as herbicides and insecticides) has on human health and water resources, a significant portion of the world's agricultural production depends on them. The purpose of this study was to determine selected residual concentrations of pesticides (diazinon, ethion, malathion, alachlor, methyl-parathion, trifluralin, atrazine, chlorpyrifos, and azinphos-methyl) in samples from Shiraz potable water sources. For this purpose, water treatment plant, groundwater wells, treated surface water, and a mixture of groundwater and treated surface water were taken. In addition, statistical and risk analyses (carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic) were used. According to the results, chlorpyrifos with 84.4% had the highest removal efficiency and methyl-parathion with 10% had the lowest removal rate in the Shiraz water treatment plant process. The highest mean concentration was related to azinphos-methyl (1.5 μg/L) and chlorpyrifos (0.59 μg/L) in the groundwater samples. All measured compounds in water source samples were below standard levels, except for chlorpyrifos and azinphos-methyl, which were reported in groundwater above the limit recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The results showed that while the selected pesticides measured had a low non-carcinogenic risk for both adults and children, malathion and trifluralin posed a high carcinogenic risk for adults.

Characteristics and Sources of CBM Well-Produced Water in the Shouyang Block, China

The Shouyang Block was selected as the research subject. Comprehensive analysis was conducted using coalbed methane (CBM) well production data, geochemical test data on water produced from the coalbed methane well, and fundamental geological information. The findings reveal the water dynamics in the Shouyang Block are characterized by weak groundwater runoff or retention in most areas. The groundwater head height exhibits a gradual decrease from the north to south, which is closely associated with the monoclinic structure of the Shouyang Block. Overall, water production is relatively high. As the average water production increases, the average gas production gradually decreases. A concentration of high water production wells is observed in the northern part of the Shouyang Block, which gradually increases towards the southeast direction. A comprehensive analysis was conducted on the factors influencing water production, including total water content of coal seams, coal seam porosity, groundwater stability index, groundwater sealing coefficient, D value of the fracture fractal dimension, fault fractal dimension, and sand–mud ratio. The correlation degree was calculated and ranked in order of magnitude through grey correlation analysis. The order of factors that influence water production, from strongest to weakest, is as follows: sand–mud ratio &gt; porosity &gt; fractal dimension of fault &gt; fracture fractal dimension D value &gt; groundwater sealing coefficient &gt; groundwater stability index &gt; total water content of coal seams. The dissolution amounts of carbonate and sulfate are both small, and the water source may mainly come from the sandstone aquifer. Attention should be paid to the distribution and lithological combination of sandstone aquifers in coal-bearing strata in the future exploration and development process of the Shouyang Block. This will help to avoid the potential influence of fault structures and enable the identification of favorable areas for low water and high gas production.

The impact of water quality on children's education: evidence from 39 districts in the Ganges Basin of India

Abstract We investigate the effect of water quality on the educational outcomes of children aged 8–11 in 39 districts in five states in the Ganges Basin of India. Using data from the Centre for Pollution Control Board of India and the Indian Human Development Survey (IHDS) 2011–12, we study the effect of water quality in the Ganges Basin on the performance in three test scores. Our evidence suggests that faecal coliform levels in water sources above safety thresholds negatively affect reading and writing test scores. The effects of Nitrate-N and Nitrite-N in the water appear to be weaker compared to those of faecal coliform. The results establish that water pollution caused by excessive presence of faecal coliform is an important environmental factor in determining educational outcomes of children. High levels of faecal coliform in the water could be lowering cognitive abilities of the pollution-affected children through the channel of waterborne diseases.

Assessment of Leaf Area Index and its Relationship with Growth and Yield of Fodder Cowpea as Influenced by Sources of Irrigation and Nutrients

Background: Fodder cowpea is an important leguminous, short duration, warm season crop widely cultivated. Though India ranks first in livestock population, the productivity is found lesser than the world average due to deficiency in availability of green fodders. As fresh water application usage is increasing for the cultivation of field crops and high value crops, fodder crops are found negligible crops but responds well to water and nutrients. Leaf area index is one of the determinative parameters for the increased yield, an attempt was made to determine the relationship between the growth and yield of fodder cowpea with the application of domestic sewage water and nutrients. Methods: studies were conducted during 2019 and 2020 to study the relationship between different sources of irrigation water and nutrients on the growth and yield of fodder cowpea. Treatments in main plot consists of irrigation with water using well water (I1), domestic sewage water (I2) and well water and domestic sewage water alternatively (I3). Treatments in sub plot consists of no nutrient (N1), Farm Yard manure alone (N2), Farm Yard manure + NPK (N3) and NPK alone (N4), in split plot design and replicated thrice. The leaf constant was determined graphically plotted in regression and used for calculation of leaf area. The relationship between leaf area index and the growth and yield parameters of fodder cowpea were determined. Result: Our investigation concluded that the application of domestic sewage water along with farmyard manure + NPK significantly increased plant height, number of leaves per plant, leaf length, leaf width, leaf area and leaf area index of fodder cowpea. The data also reveals that leaf area index correlated positively with plant height, number of leaves per plant, biomass per plant and yield of fodder cowpea.

The complex association between drinking water consumption and endemic gastrointestinal illness as shown by Swedish cohort studies

ABSTRACT It is well known that municipal drinking water may be the cause of gastrointestinal illness (GII) outbreaks, but it is still unclear to what extent drinking water contributes to endemic GII. To explore this, we conducted a prospective cohort study among 6,955 adults in five municipalities in Sweden, collecting monthly GII episodes and mean daily cold drinking water consumption through SMS (Short Message Service). When the association between drinking water consumption and GII (all symptoms) and acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI, vomiting and/or three loose stools during a 24-h period) were assessed, there were indications that the association departed from linearity, following a unimodal shape. Among consumers in surface water areas, the highest risk of GII and AGI was generally seen among the average consumers, while the opposite was seen among groundwater consumers. The association however also seemed to be affected by neighbouring communities. The results of the study indicate that there is indeed an association between drinking water consumption and endemic GII, but the nature of this association is complex and likely affected by multiple factors, for example, water source type in the home and degree of exposure to drinking water from additional sources.

Maximizing water recovery from reverse osmosis for agricultural brine reuse in Kenya

Water-stressed regions like Kenya rely on saline water sources, which can pose serious health hazards if not treated. While desalination is a burgeoning solution, safe disposal of desalination brine is often infeasible or too expensive. To circumvent this disposal challenge, we examine the maximum desalination recovery ratio (RRmax) for which desalination brine can safely be reused for many agricultural applications. Water samples from the Mara Triangle and data from past studies were collected and analyzed to measure contaminant concentrations against established safety limits of salinity and potentially hazardous elements for multiple agricultural use cases. The results suggest that high water recoveries were possible in the Mara Triangle, with the maximum recovery ratio reaching greater than 94% and 98% for crop irrigation and livestock watering, respectively. Brine reuse in this region was mostly limited by salinity, with Boron content ranking second. The most salt-tolerant crops (i.e., barley, sorghum, and wheat) were shown to be cultivable in all locations. According to calculations of the Heavy Metal Evaluation Index, groundwater in the Mara Triangle was generally safer for direct use by all users than the surface waters sampled in the past Lake Victoria and Nairobi studies.

Physico-Chemical, Microbiological and Mineral Quality of Selected Boreholes and Stream Waters in Elele Community, Rivers State, Nigeria West Africa

The analysis of the quality of drinking water from selected boreholes in Elele Community of Rivers State was conducted. The results obtained were compared with WHO standards. The physicochemical parameters values obtained were as follows: colour (all clear), pH (4.09 – 7.04 with mean value of 5.11. which is slightly acidic), temperature (24.5 -32.0 with mean value of 29.2), total dissolved solids (5-180 mg/l with mean value of 46.6 mg/l), conductivity (8-242 μs/cm with mean value of 63μs/cm), chloride (&lt;1.0-24.7 mg/l), total hardness (&lt;0.2 mg/l), calcium (&lt;0.08), magnesium (&lt;0.05mg/l), total alkalinity (4.0 – 8.0mg/l with mean value of 5.0), sulphate (&lt;1.0mg/l), phosphate (&lt;0.05 mg/l), and nitrate (&lt;0.2 – 5.92mg/l), all of which did not exceed WHO standards, except for turbidity values in STN 7and 8 (5.51 and 7.40 NTU) which were slightly above the standard. For mineral analyses, Fe was in compliance with the standards, so also was Mn, except for STN 1 and 2 (2.576 and 0.471ppm) which were slightly above the limits. For microbiological analyses, FCB and TCB were less than detection limit, while THB values (2.4 x 102 – 8.0 x 102 efu/ml) all exceeded the WHO limits for portable water, which is the major source of contamination of the water samples. However, these variations in the results were not too pronounced to cause serious health hazards, since most of the parameters analyzed met the WHO limit and others which did not meet were slightly above the limit. But, this does not rule out completely the need for appropriate treatment of these water sources for portability and safe drinking. Recommendations on the strategies to reduce/eliminate some of the pollutants in the water were made.

Analysing the interlinkage between diarrhoea and drinking water faecal contamination in India

ABSTRACT Diarrhoea is one of the major waterborne diseases spread through the faecal–oral route causing over 10 million cases and over 1,000 deaths in India. This study critically evaluates the interlinkage between bacteriological water quality, i.e. faecal coliforms and diarrhoea cases for the three pre-pandemic years 2017, 2018 and 2019 based on multiple sources. With around 17% of households tap water connectivity as of August 2019, the majority of the Indian population depends on raw groundwater (GW) and surface water sources. For this, faecal coliform (FC) levels in surface and GW have been mapped at district levels using data from India's National Water Quality Monitoring Programme. Health Management Information System's data on diarrhoea have been used to understand the monthly and district-wise variation of diarrhoea. The trends of FC, diarrhoea inpatient cases, and diarrhoea inpatient rates have been discussed. The analysis showed issues associated with the reliability and usefulness of these datasets with 43% of total India districts with no reported FC values for the study period. This study reveals a clear gap in the interlinkage between diarrhoea and bacteriological water quality with the unavailability of granular water quality data as a major challenge.

Hydrothermally Produced Activated Carbon Impregnated with ZnO for the Adsorptive Removal of Toxic Pharmaceutical Contaminants from Aqueous Solution

This research explores the adsorption (AD) of diclofenac sodium (DS) onto a Hydrothermally produced activated carbon impregnated with ZnO (HTC-AC/ZnO) surface, considering various factors such as initial concentration (IC), adsorbent dose, contact time, and pH. The characterization of HTC-AC/ZnO was performed using X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and nitrogen physisorption spectroscopy (BET). Tests were conducted with different adsorbent doses (0.5–4 g/L) at 303 K and various initial diclofenac concentrations (ranging from 50 mg/L to 250 mg/L) to observe their effects. Additionally, pH values were altered from 2 to 12 to study their influence on AD. Kinetic studies, thermodynamic studies, and AD isotherm models were examined. The Temkin isotherm model (TIM) was found to be the most accurate for DS-AD on HTC-AC/ZnO. For DS-AD on HTC-AC/ZnO, pseudo-first-order models (PFOM), intraparticle diffusion model (IPDM), and pseudo-second-order models (PSOM) were applied, with a correlation coefficient of 0.945, indicating a good fit for PFOM. The kinetics suggested rapid adsorption. Notably, the HTC-AC/ZnO composite exhibited consistent AD characteristics across four consecutive cycles, with a removal efficiency exceeding 99.38%. This suggests that HTC-AC/ZnO is an appropriate and economically viable adsorbent for the elimination of DS from water-based solutions. The investigation provides compelling evidence that HTC-AC/ZnO is a viable adsorbent for the effective elimination of DS from water sources.

Oregon's Unprecedented Labor Day 2020 Fires: Impacts and Response

Key TakeawaysThe prevalence of hotter, more destructive wildfires will continue to threaten water systems’ ability to maintain source water quality and effective treatment.Over the Labor Day weekend in 2020, wildfires burned more than one million acres in Oregon; case studies illustrate three communities’ recovery and restoration strategies.Preparing for and responding to wildfires is done most effectively as a collaborative effort of utilities and local organizations and agencies.Utilities can protect their drinking water systems from a distribution standpoint and at a landscape level (i.e., protecting the source water).

Physicochemical Characteristics of Water in the Bontanga Irrigation Dam in the Guinea Savannah Agro-Ecological Zone of Ghana

Fresh water resource is one of the most significant natural assets of a country. Irrigation dams are usually used for irrigation purposes and also often serve as a source of water for domestic use. Due to this, there is a need for proper maintenance, assessment, and sustainable use of irrigation dams. This study assessed the physicochemical properties of the water in the reservoir of Bontanga irrigation dam situated in the Guinea Savannah Agro-Ecological Zone of Ghana. The study assessed four (4) physical and fourteen (14) chemical water quality parameters of the water for irrigation to know whether they are within the acceptable threshold set by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Sampling techniques used in this study were stratified and purposive samplings. The reservoir of the dam was divided into nine (9) strata and in each stratum, 5 samples were taken making a total of 45 samples. Samples taken in each strata were composited making it a total of 9 samples. The water samples were collected into well-labelled polythene bottles and kept in an ice chest with ice cubes. The samples were transported to the Ecological Laboratory of the University of Ghana for analysis. The parameters analyzed were pH, electrical conductivity (EC), temperature, total dissolved solutes (TDS), chloride (Cl-), sulphate (SO42-), bicarbonate (HCO3-), carbonate, PO4-P, nitrites/nitrate (NO3-N), total dissolved solids (TDS), magnesium (Mg2+), calcium (Ca2+), sodium (Na+), boron, total alkalinity, ammonia (NH4-N) and potassium (K+). A greater percentage of the results obtained were within acceptable limits except potassium which was slightly higher. This could be the result of farming activities in the catchment of the dam. In general, the water in Bontanga irrigation dam can be considered suitable for irrigation purposes.

Controlling the hospital aquatic reservoir of multidrug-resistant organisms: a cross-sectional study followed by a nested randomized trial of sink decontamination.

The hospital water environment is an important reservoir of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) and presents a risk for patient safety. We assessed the effectiveness of thermal and chemical interventions on sinks contaminated with MDRO in hospital setting. We conducted a cross-sectional assessment of MDRO contamination of sinks and toilets in 26 clinical wards of a tertiary care hospital. MDRO-contaminated sink traps were then replaced and randomized (1:1:1) to receive chemical (sodium hypochlorite), thermal disinfection (steam), or no intervention. Interventions were repeated weekly for four weeks. Sinks were resampled seven days after the last intervention. The primary outcome was the proportion of decontaminated sinks. MDROs of interest were extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing and carbapenemase-producing s Enterobacterales, and non-fermentative Gram-negative bacilli. In the cross-sectional assessment, at least one MDRO was identified in 258 (36%) of the 748 samples and in 91 (47%) of the 192 water sources. In total, 57 (42%) of the 137 sinks and 34 (62%) of the 55 toilets were contaminated with 137 different MDRO. The most common MDRO were ESBL-producing Enterobacterales (69%, 95/137), followed by VIM-producing P. aeruginosa (9%, 12/137) and Citrobacter spp. (6%, 5/137). In the nested randomized trial, 5 of 16 sinks (31%) in the chemical disinfection group were decontaminated, compared to 8 of 18 (44%) in the control group (OR 0.58, 95%CI 0.14-2.32) and 9 of 17 (53%) in the thermal disinfection group (OR 1.40, 95%CI 0.37- 5.32). Our study failed to demonstrate an added benefit of repeated chemical or thermal disinfection, beyond changing sink traps, in the MDRO decontamination of sinks. Routine chlorine-based disinfection of sinks may need to be reconsidered.

Financial inclusion and improved water usage among households in Ghana

BackgroundIn Ghana, about 76% of households are at risk of drinking water polluted with faecal matter, hence, poor sanitation and unsafe water are responsible for 80% of all diseases in the country. Given this, some studies have been carried out concerning the factors that determine access and use of improved water among households in Ghana. However, although financial inclusion can make it easy for households to afford and hence, use improved water, it has received very little attention. This study, thus, examines the effect of financial inclusion on the use of improved water among households in Ghana.MethodsThe Ghana Living Standards Survey round 7 (GLSS7) is used as the data source while the binary logit regression is employed as the main empirical estimation technique.ResultsThe results show that households with financial inclusion (employing an indicator which has not been disaggregated into formal and informal financial inclusion) have a higher likelihood of using improved water sources relative to those without financial inclusion. The results are robust using formal financial inclusion as well as a combined index of financial inclusion.ConclusionEnhancing financial inclusion, especially formal financial inclusion can be utilised as a major policy instrument towards increasing access and use of improved water sources among households in Ghana.