CGPH FACULTY: John Colford
DATE OF PUBLICATION: March 2015
REGION: Asia
REFERENCE: Ercumen A, Naser AM, Unicomb L, Arnold BF, Colford JM Jr, Luby SP. Effects of Source- versus Household Contamination of Tubewell Water on Child Diarrhea in Rural Bangladesh: A Randomized Controlled Trial. PLoS One. 2015 Mar 27;10(3):e0121907. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0121907. eCollection 2015.
SUMMARY/ABSTRACT: Shallow tubewells are the primary drinking water source for most rural Bangladeshis. Fecal contamination has been detected in tubewells, at low concentrations at the source and at higher levels at the point of use. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to assess whether improving the microbiological quality of tubewell drinking water by household water treatment and safe storage would reduce diarrhea in children <2 years in rural Bangladesh. Safe storage significantly improved drinking water quality at the point of use and reduced child diarrhea in rural Bangladesh. There was no added benefit from combining safe storage with chlorination. Efforts should be undertaken to implement and evaluate long-term efforts for safe water storage in Bangladesh.
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