Suchergebnisse

AbstractThis study aimed to assess the socioeconomic feasibility of promoting locally produced water filters to promote their local production. It appears that 69.8% of participants did not know that water filters were produced locally and 92.3% were ready to buy them with efficiency as the main motivation (39.8%). In addition, being aged [46–60 years old] (OR = 19.17; IC = 3.13–37.81; p = 0.008), being female (OR = 1.67; IC = 1.02–2.77; p = 0.041), student/pupil (OR = 2.32; IC = 1.13–4.78; p = 0.021), employed in the private sector (OR = 3.68; IC = 1.32–11.16; p = 0.015), and civil servant (OR = 3.28; IC = 1.09–10.99; p = 0.041) significantly increased the odds of having ever used a water filter in their household. In addition, we found that 71.7% of participants had ever used an imported ceramic water filter in their households and the main reason given by these participants for abandoning or renewing these filters within their households was that they felt that they had already become old and inefficient. The valorization of locally manufactured filters could therefore constitute a logical alternative that can contribute to solving a certain number of socioeconomic and health problems in our country.

Following the introduction of an improved surveillance system for infectious intestinal disease outbreaks in England and Wales, the Public Health Laboratory Service Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre received reports of 26 outbreaks between 1 January 1992 and 31 December 1995 in which there was evidence for waterborne transmission of infection. In these 26 outbreaks, 1756 laboratory confirmed cases were identified of whom 69 (4%) were admitted to hospital. In 19 outbreaks, illness was associated with the consumption of drinking water from public supplies (10 outbreaks) or private supplies (9 outbreaks). The largest outbreak consisted of 575 cases. In 4 of the remaining 7 outbreaks, illness was associated with exposure to swimming pool water. Cryptosporidium was identified as the probable causative organism in all 14 outbreaks associated with public water supplies and swimming pools. Campylobacter was responsible for most outbreaks associated with private water supplies. This review confirms a continuing risk of cryptosporidiosis from chlorinated water supplies in England and Wales, and reinforces governmental advice to water utilities that water treatment processes should be rigorously applied to ensure effective particle removal. High standards of surveillance are important for prompt recognition of outbreaks and institution of control measures. As microbiological evidence of water contamination may be absent or insufficient to implicate a particular water supply, a high standard of epidemiological investigation is recommended in all outbreaks of suspected waterborne disease.

Abstract
Background
In Syria, disruption to water and sanitation systems, together with poor access to vaccination, forced displacement and overcrowding contribute to increases in waterborne diseases (WBDs). The aim of this study is to perform a spatiotemporal analysis to investigate potential associations between interruptions to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and WBDs in northeast Syria using data collected by the Early Warning Alert and Response Network (EWARN) from Deir-ez-Zor, Raqqa, Hassakeh and parts of Aleppo governorates.

Methods
We reviewed the literature databases of MEDLINE and Google Scholar and the updates of ReliefWeb to obtain information on acute disruptions and attacks against water infrastructure in northeast Syria between January 2015 and June 2021. The EWARN weekly trends of five syndromes representing waterborne diseases were plotted and analysed to identify time trends and the influence of these disruptions. To investigate a potential relationship, the Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to compare districts with and without disruptions. Time series analyses were carried out on major disruptions to analyse their effect on WBD incidence.

Results
The literature review found several instances where water infrastructure was attacked or disrupted, suggesting that water has been deliberately targeted by both state and non-state actors in northeast Syria throughout the conflict. Over time, there was an overall upwards trend of other acute diarrhoea (OAD, p < 0.001), but downwards trends for acute jaundice syndrome, suspected typhoid fever and acute bloody diarrhoea. For the major disruption of the Alouk water plant, an interrupted time series analysis did not find a strong correlation between the disruption and changes in disease incidence in the weeks following the incident, but long-term increases in WBD were observed.

Conclusions
While no strong immediate correlation could be established between disruptions to WASH and WBDs in northeast Syria, further research is essential to explore the impact of conflict-associated damage to civil infrastructure including WASH. This is vital though challenging given confounding factors which affect both WASH and WBDs in contexts like northeast Syria. As such, research which includes exploration of mitigation after damage to WASH is essential to improve understanding of impacts on quantity and quality of WASH. More granular research which explores the origin of cases of WBDs and how such communities are affected by challenges to WASH is needed. One step towards research on this, is the implementation of adequate reporting mechanisms for real time tracking of the WASH attacks, damages, direct effects, and likely impact in conjunction with environmental and public health bodies and surveillance systems.

A qualitative and quantitative analysis of the effect of public water and sewer systems on African American life expectancy in the Jim Crow era.Why, at the peak of the Jim Crow era early in the twentieth century, did life expectancy for African Americans rise dramatically? And why, when public officials were denying African Americans access to many other public services, did public water and sewer service for African Americans improve and expand? Using the qualitative and quantitative tools of demography, economics, geography, history, law, and medicine, Werner Troesken shows that the answers to these questions are closely connected. Arguing that in this case, racism led public officials not to deny services but to improve them--the only way to "protect" white neighborhoods against waste from black neighborhoods was to install water and sewer systems in both--Troesken shows that when cities and towns had working water and sewer systems, typhoid and other waterborne diseases were virtually eradicated. This contributed to the great improvements in life expectancy (both in absolute terms and relative to whites) among urban blacks between 1900 and 1940. Citing recent demographic and medical research findings that early exposure to typhoid increases the probability of heart problems later in life, Troesken argues that building water and sewer systems not only reduced waterborne disease rates, it also improved overall health and reduced mortality from other diseases. Troesken draws on many independent sources of evidence, including data from the Negro Mortality Project, econometric analysis of waterborne disease rates in blacks and whites, analysis of case law on discrimination in the provision of municipal services, and maps showing the location of black and white households. He argues that all evidence points to one conclusion: that there was much less discrimination in the provision of public water and sewer systems than would seem likely in the era of Jim Crow.

Health services are characterized as meritorious goods, a type of semipublic good that, given its social character, the allocation of resources in these activities becomes socially desirable by the government so that they are allocated efficiently. One of the ways to control and reduce unnecessary health expenditures is the population's access to basic sanitation services that, when inefficient, cause negative externalities to the exposed population. In this sense, the objective of this study is to analyze the relationship between coverage of basic sanitation services and the costs of hospital admissions for waterborne diseases in the Northeast Region of Brazil, from 2005 to 2015. In order to do so, we used secondary data from the Department of Informatics of the Brazilian Unified Health System (DATASUS), the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) and Finance of Brazil (FINBRA) for the construction of panel regression models with fixed effects. The main results indicate that access to sanitation services, mainly from the sewage collection network, reduces the costs of hospitalizations for Diseases Related to Inadequate Environmental Sanitation (DRSAI) of the Unified Health System (SUS).

The paper overviews the global and financially sensitive issues of sanitation and water supply in concern with preventing waterborne infections. The strategy and efficiency of clean drinking water supply withhold a number of obvious sanitation shortcomings. To positive results on a global scale, EU countries have adopted and implemented certain hygiene and public water supply sanitation strategies. ; "Interaction of Environment and Human Health: Experience of the European Union", with the reference number 2016-2592 / 001-001, 574826-EPP-1-2016-1-RU-EPPJMO-MODULE

Early diagnosis and treatment of malaria cases is one of the basic elements of the current global malaria control strategy. In order to provide this service to people in rural areas there is a need for new cost-effective approaches. To ensure that such new approaches are acceptable to the target communities, it is important to know the rationale for people's malaria treatment-seeking behavior. The present study provides insights into the reasons for people's preferences for different types of healthcare facilities and describes variation of these preferences within a rural community in Sri Lanka. The study reports on the experiences with the establishment of a village health facility and its effect on the treatment-seeking behavior of the population. After the introduction of the village treatment center it quickly took over the role of main provider for diagnosis and treatment of malaria from the government facilities. The treatment center did not improve the response time in seeking treatment for young children, but the delay for adults was reduced by 1-2 days. Mothers with small children often preferred the government facilities since they wanted a more qualified opinion than available from the locally recruited staff of the village treatment center. The treatment center significantly reduced the stress and discomfort experienced by the elderly and handicapped segment of the community. The study indicated that the effective catchment area of a village treatment center will be influenced by the degree of initial support from key individuals in the communities, the selection procedure and training of assistants, and the history of the relationships between different villages to be served by the center. The government health services and communities across the dry zone of Sri Lanka could benefit substantially from the establishment of more village treatment centers. To ensure the long-term sustainability of these type of facilities it is necessary to assess the feasibility of charging a user fee and establishing multi-purpose clinics. Government policies and administrative procedures will need to be adjusted to make the successful operation of village treatment centers possible.

Floods lead to tremendous losses of property, infrastructure, business and increased risk of diseases. Floods are also the most frequent natural disasters, affecting over 2.8 billion people in the world and causing over 200 000 deaths over the past three decades. The World Health Organization categorised the 2012 flood disaster in Nigeria as the worst flood to have hit the country in the past 50 years. This study reviews flood disasters in Nigeria and how they have been managed over the past two decades. The extensive review of the literature is complemented by data obtained from Ajegunle, a community in Ajeromi–Ifelodun Local Government Area. Because of its proximity to water bodies, its large population and its small land mass, the Ajegunle community is highly susceptible to floods and outbreaks of waterborne diseases. The study also discusses the institutionalisation and development of disaster management in Nigeria. Further, it critically evaluates the disaster management framework and other current disaster management policies as well as the effectiveness and functions of the disaster management focus areas and government response. The study takes a historic approach to flood disasters, linking disaster management to human health with a special focus on flood-related infectious diseases, isolating waterborne diseases as being predominant. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected to develop an understanding of how the people of Ajegunle are affected by flood disasters. This study reveals poorly managed health reforms and argues that in spite of government's disaster management policies, there is an absence of organised and coordinated institutional structures to plan and respond to flood emergencies. It also revealed that diarrhoea outbreak was the predominant waterborne disease associated with flood disasters. Although Lagos State has been said to have the best flood preparedness plan in Nigeria, it has failed to reduce the yearly flood disasters and their impact on the health of the people. The article suggests a holistic approach by the government to get stakeholders, especially the health sector, more actively involved in disaster management planning.

Malaria risk factor studies have traditionally used microscopy readings of blood slides as the measure of malaria infection in humans, although alternatives are available. There is the need for an assessment of how the use of these alternative diagnostic approaches will influence the efficiency and significance of epidemiological studies. In an area of Sri Lanka with known risk factors for malaria, two cross-sectional surveys were done at the start and at the peak of transmission season. Microscopy was compared with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The major risk factor in this area was the location of houses relative to confirmed vector breeding sites. At the peak of the transmission season, the results pointed in the same direction, irrespective of the diagnostic method used. However, the importance of distance from the breeding site was not statistically significant when microscopy was used, which can be explained by the lower prevalence of microscopy positivity in comparison to the prevalence of ELISAand PCR-positivity. This study suggests that in low-transmission areas, such as Sri Lanka, smaller sample sizes can be used for epidemiological research studies using PCR instead of microscopy to estimate parasite prevalence. This efficiency gain has to be weighed against the higher cost and complexity of the PCR. PCR cannot replace microscopy as the standard diagnostic procedure at the field level. ELISA is not directly comparable with microscopy and PCR but it can also be a useful tool in malaria epidemiological studies. This study indicates that cross-sectional surveys are only efficient if they take place during peak transmission season. Cross sectional surveys currently implemented by the Sri Lankan government in response to local malaria outbreaks can form the basis for valid epidemiological studies and be used for the generation of malaria risk maps if samples were also analyzed using PCR.

One year ago, the authors of this article reported in this journal on the malaria situation in Sri Lanka prior to the tsunami that hit on 26 December 2004, and estimated the likelihood of a post-tsunami malaria outbreak to be low. Malaria incidence has decreased in 2005 as compared to 2004 in most districts, including the ones that were hit hardest by the tsunami. The malaria incidence (aggregated for the whole country) in 2005 followed the downward trend that started in 2000. However, surveillance was somewhat affected by the tsunami in some coastal areas and the actual incidence in these areas may have been higher than recorded, although there were no indications of this and it is unlikely to have affected the overall trend significantly. The focus of national and international post tsunami malaria control efforts was supply of antimalarials, distribution of impregnated mosquito nets and increased monitoring in the affected area. Internationally donated antimalarials were either redundant or did not comply with national drug policy, however, few seem to have entered circulation outside government control. Despite distribution of mosquito nets, still a large population is relatively exposed to mosquito bites due to inadequate housing. There were no indications of increased malaria vector abundance. Overall it is concluded that the tsunami has not negatively influenced the malaria situation in Sri Lanka.

Water quality and quantity is always an important issue in lowland ecosystem of Banyuasin. Low domestic water supply sanitation is considered as having an important contribution on the high frequency of waterborne diseases in the area. The study aims at recording water borne diseases and the water quality in the lowland area of Banyuasin District. This field research was conducted using a cross-sectional method. Total samples were 210 households in Telang which were observed during July through August 2011. Six water samples were measured for their physical and chemical properties, in addition to 1 water sample for bacteriological test. All respondents used river water for sanitary purposes and 41.4% of them also have dug wells. Those who used river water for sanitation, 68.5 % also consumed purified water for drinking purpose. All water samples are acidic (pH 5,68-6,19) and contain high Iron (1-26,269 Mg/L). Water has yellowish color. The major disease are diarrhea and skin diseases. In the lowland area with the estuarine ecosystem water quality and scarcity are serious problems. This in turn causes the high prevalent of waterborne diseases such as diarea. Low level of education and socio-economic status make it difficult for the local people to overcome these problems. Outside intervention especially government so as to improve the condition is needed

"Food safety depends on strong partnerships. CDC and the regulatory agencies (the Food and Drug Administration [FDA] and the US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service [FSIS]) play complementary roles in the federal food safety effort. State and local health departments also play critical roles in all aspects of food safety. CDC provides the vital link between illness in people and the food safety systems of government agencies and food producers. CDC does this by: Monitoring human illness--tracking the occurrence of foodborne diseases; Defining the public health burden of foodborne illness; Attributing illness to specific foods and settings; Investigating outbreaks and sporadic cases--managing the DNA 'fingerprinting' network for foodborne illness-causing germs in all states to detect outbreaks; Empowering state and local health departments; Targeting prevention measures to meet long-term food safety goals; Informing food safety action and policy--the new Food Safety Modernization Act and the egg safety regulation were driven in part by CDC data and investigative findings." - p. [1] ; "CS217502A." ; "January 2011." ; Mode of access: World Wide Web as an Acrobat .pdf file (1.05 MB, 2 p.). ; Text document (PDF).