Dataset Information

Influence of Climate Extremes and Land Use on Fecal Contamination of Shallow Tubewells in Bangladesh.

ABSTRACT: Climate extremes in conjunction with some land use practices are expected to have large impacts on water quality. However, the impacts of land use and climate change on fecal contamination of groundwater has not been well characterized. This work quantifies the influences of extreme weather events and land use practices on Escherichia coli presence and concentration in groundwater from 125 shallow wells, a dominant drinking water resource in rural Bangladesh, monitored over a 17 month period. The results showed that E. coli presence was significantly associated with the number of heavy rain days, developed land and areas with more surface water. These variables also had significant impacts on E. coli concentration, with risk ratios of 1.38 (95% CI = 1.16, 1.65), 1.07 (95% CI: 1.05, 1.09), and 1.02 (95% CI = 1.01, 1.03), respectively. Significant synergistic effects on E. coli presence and concentration were observed when land use and weather variables were combined. The findings suggest that climate extremes and land use practices, particularly urbanization, might promote fecal contamination of shallow well water, thus increasing the risk of diarrheal diseases.

SUBMITTER: Wu J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4775353 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Influence of Climate Extremes and Land Use on Fecal Contamination of Shallow Tubewells in Bangladesh.

Wu Jianyong J Yunus Mohammad M Islam Md Sirajul MS Emch Michael M

Environmental science & technology 20160219 5

Climate extremes in conjunction with some land use practices are expected to have large impacts on water quality. However, the impacts of land use and climate change on fecal contamination of groundwater has not been well characterized. This work quantifies the influences of extreme weather events and land use practices on Escherichia coli presence and concentration in groundwater from 125 shallow wells, a dominant drinking water resource in rural Bangladesh, monitored over a 17 month period. Th ...[more]

PMID: 26844955

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Project description:BackgroundHousehold-level sanitation interventions have had limited effects on child health or environmental contamination, potentially due to low community coverage. Higher community-level coverage with safely managed sanitation can reduce opportunities for disease transmission.MethodsWe estimated associations between community sanitation coverage, environmental fecal contamination, and child health among 360 compounds in the control arm of the WASH Benefits trial in rural Bangladesh (NCT01590095). In each compound, we enumerated E. coli in environmental samples and recorded the 7-day prevalence of caregiver-reported diarrheal disease and acute respiratory infections (ARI) in children under five. We observed indicators of latrine access and quality among all neighboring compounds within 100 m of study compounds. We defined community coverage as the proportion of neighboring compounds with (1) at least one latrine, and (2) exclusively hygienic latrines (improved facility observed to safely contain feces), within both 50 m and 100 m of study compounds. We assessed effect modification by population density and season.ResultsAdjusted for confounders, study compounds surrounded by 100% coverage of at least one latrine per compound within 50 m had slightly lower log10E. coli counts in stored water (Δlog = -0.13, 95% CI -0.26, -0.01), child hand rinses (Δlog = -0.13, 95% CI -0.24, -0.02), and caregiver hand rinses (Δlog = -0.16, 95% CI -0.29, -0.03) and marginally lower prevalence of diarrheal disease (prevalence ratio [PR] = 0.82, 95% CI 0.64, 1.04) and ARI (PR = 0.84, 95% CI 0.69, 1.03) compared to compounds surrounded by <100% coverage. Effects were similar but less pronounced at 100 m. At higher population densities, community latrine coverage was associated with larger reductions in E. coli on child and caregiver hands and prevalence of diarrheal disease. Coverage with exclusively hygienic latrines was not associated with any outcome.ConclusionHigher community sanitation coverage was associated with reduced fecal contamination and improved child health, with stronger effects at highly local scales (50m) and at high population densities. Our findings indicate that the relationship between community sanitation coverage, environmental contamination, and child health varies by definition of coverage, distance, and population density. This work highlights significant uncertainty around how to best measure sanitation coverage and the expected health effects of increasing sanitation coverage using a specific metric. Better understanding of community-level sanitation access is needed to inform policy for implementing sanitation systems that effectively protect community health.

Dataset Information

Influence of Climate Extremes and Land Use on Fecal Contamination of Shallow Tubewells in Bangladesh.

Publications

Influence of Climate Extremes and Land Use on Fecal Contamination of Shallow Tubewells in Bangladesh.

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