Article
Solar disinfection of drinking water protects against cholera in
children under 6 years of age
R M Conroya, M E Meeganc, T Joycea, K McGuiganb, J Barnesa
a Department of
Tropical Medicine and International Health, Royal College of Surgeons,
Mercer Building, Dublin 2, Republic of Ireland, b Department of
Physics, Royal College of Surgeons, c ICROSS, PO Box 507, Ngong Hills, Kenya
Correspondence to: Dr Conroy rconroy{at}rcsi.ie
Accepted 10 July 2001
BACKGROUND AND AIMS
We have
previously reported a reduction in risk of diarrhoeal disease in
children who used solar disinfected drinking water. A cholera epidemic,
occurring in an area of Kenya in which a controlled trial of solar
disinfection and diarrhoeal disease in children aged under 6 had
recently finished, offered an opportunity to examine the protection
offered by solar disinfection against cholera.
METHODSIn the original trial, all
children aged under 6 in a Maasai community were randomised by
household: in the solar disinfection arm, children drank water
disinfected by leaving it on the roof in a clear plastic bottle, while
controls drank water kept indoors. We revisited all households which
had participated in the original trial.
RESULTSThere were 131 households
in the trial area, of which 67 had been randomised to solar
disinfection (a further 19 households had migrated as a result of
severe drought). There was no significant difference in the risk of
cholera in adults or in older children in households randomised to
solar disinfection; however, there were only three cases of cholera in
the 155 children aged under 6 years drinking solar disinfected water
compared with 20 of 144 controls.
CONCLUSIONSResults confirm the
usefulness of solar disinfection in reducing risk of water borne
disease in children. Point of consumption solar disinfection can be
done with minimal resources, which are readily available, and may be an
important first line response to cholera outbreaks. Its potential in
chorine resistant cholera merits further investigation.
Keywords: solar disinfection; cholera
© 2001 by Archives of Disease in Childhood
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