Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-x5gtn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-29T08:28:21.793Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Bacterial contamination of stored water and stored food: a potential source of diarrhoeal disease in West Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

Kåre Mølbak ,
Niels Højlyng ,
Søren Jepsen  and
Knud Gaarslev
Kåre Mølbak
Affiliation:
Department of Toxoplasmosis, Statens Seruminstitut, Amager Boulevard 80, 2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark
Niels Højlyng
Affiliation:
Department of Toxoplasmosis, Statens Seruminstitut, Amager Boulevard 80, 2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark
Søren Jepsen
Affiliation:
Department of Toxoplasmosis, Statens Seruminstitut, Amager Boulevard 80, 2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark
Knud Gaarslev
Affiliation:
Department of Diagnostic Bacteriology, Statens Seruminstitut, Amager Boulevard 80, 2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The food and water hygiene in two Liberian communities was studied in a house-to-house diarrhoea survey. The level of contamination with enterobacteria of drinking water stored in the households was significantly higher than at the water sources. Food hygiene standards were low, particularly in the urban slum where storage of cooked food for long periods led to bacterial multiplication at high levels. Infant foods were particularly heavily contaminated. It is concluded that when water supply programmes are planned, the presence of other risk factors for water-related diseases should be investigated. To ensure maximum health benefits, water projects should as a rule be accompanied by other interventions.

Type
Research Article
Information
Epidemiology & Infection , Volume 102 , Issue 2 , April 1989 , pp. 309 - 316
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

References

REFERENCES

Esrey, S. A., Feachem, R. G. & Hughes, J. M. (1985). Interventions for the control of diarrhoeal diseases among young children: improving water supplies and exereta disposal facilities. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 63, 757–772.Google ScholarPubMed
Højlyng, N., Mølbak, K., Hanson, A. P. & Jepsen, S. (1985). Etiology of Diarrhoea in Liberian Children. Report. Copenhagen, Denmark: Statens Seruminstitut.Google Scholar
Højlyng, N., Mølbak, K. & Jepsen, S. (1986). Cryptosporidium spp., a frequent cause of diarrhoea in Liberian children. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 23, 1109–1113.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kilian, M. & Bülow, P. (1976). Rapid diagnosis of Enterobacteriaceae. I. Detection of bacterial glycosidases. Acta Pathologica Scandinavica Section B 84, 245–251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lautrop, H., Høiby, N., Bremmelgaard, A. & Korsager, B. (1979). Bakteriologiske Undersøgelsesmetoder. Copenhagen Denmark: FADL's Forlag.Google Scholar
Mølbak, K., Højlyng, N. & Gaarslev, K. (1988). High prevalence of campylobacter excretors among Liberian children related to environmental conditions. Epidemiology and Infection 100, 227–237.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shuval, H. I., Tilden, R. L., Perry, B. H. & Grosse, R. N. (1981). Effects of investments in water supply and sanitation on health status: a threshold-saturation theory. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 59, 243–248.Google ScholarPubMed
Snyder, J. B. & Merson, M. H. (1982). The magnitude of the global problem of acute diarrhoeal disease: a review of active surveillance data. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 60, 605–613.Google ScholarPubMed