CGPH FACULTY: John Colford
DATE OF PUBLICATION: September 2015
REGION: Asia
REFERENCE: Cohen A, Tao Y, Luo Q, Zhong G, Romm J, Colford JM Jr, Ray I. Microbiological Evaluation of Household Drinking Water Treatment in Rural China Shows Benefits of Electric Kettles: A Cross-Sectional Study. PLoS One. 2015 Sep 30;10(9):e0138451. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0138451. eCollection 2015.
SUMMARY/ABSTRACT: In rural China ~607 million people drink boiled water, yet little is known about prevailing household water treatment (HWT) methods or their effectiveness. Boiling, the most common HWT method globally, is microbiologically effective, but household air pollution (HAP) from burning solid fuels causes cardiovascular and respiratory disease, and black carbon emissions exacerbate climate change. Boiled water is also easily re-contaminated. Our study was designed to identify the HWT methods used in rural China and to evaluate their effectiveness.As far as we are aware, this is the first HWT-focused study in China, and the first to quantify the comparative advantage of boiling with electric kettles over pots. Our results suggest that electric kettles could be used to rapidly expand safe drinking water access and reduce HAP exposure in rural China.
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