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Livestock ownership and microbial contamination of drinking-water: evidence from nationally representative household surveys in Ghana, Nepal and Bangladesh

Livestock ownership and microbial contamination of drinking-water: evidence from nationally representative household surveys in Ghana, Nepal and Bangladesh
Livestock ownership and microbial contamination of drinking-water: evidence from nationally representative household surveys in Ghana, Nepal and Bangladesh
Background: Current priorities for diarrhoeal disease prevention include use of sanitation and safe water. There have been few attempts to quantify the importance of animal faeces in drinking-water contamination, despite the presence of potentially water-borne zoonotic pathogens in animal faeces. Objectives: This study aimed to quantify the relationship between livestock ownership and point-of-consumption drinking-water contamination. Methods: Data from nationally representative household surveys in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Ghana, each with associated water quality assessments, were used. Multinomial regression adjusting for confounders was applied to assess the relationship between livestock ownership and the level of drinking-water contamination with E. coli. Results: Ownership of five or more large livestock (e.g. cattle) was significantly associated with drinking-water contamination in Ghana (RRR = 7.9, 95% CI = 1.6 to 38.9 for medium levels of contamination with 1-31cfu/100ml; RRR = 5.2, 95% CI = 1.1 – 24.5 for high levels of contamination with >31cfu/100ml) and Bangladesh (RRR = 2.4, 95% CI = 1.3 – 4.5 for medium levels of contamination; non-significant for high levels of contamination). Ownership of eight or more poultry (chickens, guinea fowl, ducks or turkeys) was associated with drinking-water contamination in Bangladesh (RRR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.1 – 2.0 for medium levels of contamination, non-significant for high levels of contamination). Conclusions: These results suggest that livestock ownership is a significant risk factor for the contamination of drinking-water at the point of consumption. This indicates that addressing human sanitation without consideration of faecal contamination from livestock sources will not be sufficient to prevent drinking-water contamination.
1438-4639
Wardrop, Nicola A.
8f3a8171-0727-4375-bc68-10e7d616e176
Hill, Allan G.
5b17aa71-0c14-4fbf-8bc9-807c8294d4ae
Dzodzomenyo, Mawuli
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Aryeetey, Genevieve
c1d29b15-bbf2-4eec-8906-c150bd810ebd
Wright, Jim A.
94990ecf-f8dd-4649-84f2-b28bf272e464
Wardrop, Nicola A.
8f3a8171-0727-4375-bc68-10e7d616e176
Hill, Allan G.
5b17aa71-0c14-4fbf-8bc9-807c8294d4ae
Dzodzomenyo, Mawuli
b3bafe27-4542-4ece-a82a-4717a72df187
Aryeetey, Genevieve
c1d29b15-bbf2-4eec-8906-c150bd810ebd
Wright, Jim A.
94990ecf-f8dd-4649-84f2-b28bf272e464

Wardrop, Nicola A., Hill, Allan G., Dzodzomenyo, Mawuli, Aryeetey, Genevieve and Wright, Jim A. (2017) Livestock ownership and microbial contamination of drinking-water: evidence from nationally representative household surveys in Ghana, Nepal and Bangladesh. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health. (doi:10.1016/j.ijheh.2017.09.014).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Background: Current priorities for diarrhoeal disease prevention include use of sanitation and safe water. There have been few attempts to quantify the importance of animal faeces in drinking-water contamination, despite the presence of potentially water-borne zoonotic pathogens in animal faeces. Objectives: This study aimed to quantify the relationship between livestock ownership and point-of-consumption drinking-water contamination. Methods: Data from nationally representative household surveys in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Ghana, each with associated water quality assessments, were used. Multinomial regression adjusting for confounders was applied to assess the relationship between livestock ownership and the level of drinking-water contamination with E. coli. Results: Ownership of five or more large livestock (e.g. cattle) was significantly associated with drinking-water contamination in Ghana (RRR = 7.9, 95% CI = 1.6 to 38.9 for medium levels of contamination with 1-31cfu/100ml; RRR = 5.2, 95% CI = 1.1 – 24.5 for high levels of contamination with >31cfu/100ml) and Bangladesh (RRR = 2.4, 95% CI = 1.3 – 4.5 for medium levels of contamination; non-significant for high levels of contamination). Ownership of eight or more poultry (chickens, guinea fowl, ducks or turkeys) was associated with drinking-water contamination in Bangladesh (RRR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.1 – 2.0 for medium levels of contamination, non-significant for high levels of contamination). Conclusions: These results suggest that livestock ownership is a significant risk factor for the contamination of drinking-water at the point of consumption. This indicates that addressing human sanitation without consideration of faecal contamination from livestock sources will not be sufficient to prevent drinking-water contamination.

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Accepted/In Press date: 30 September 2017
e-pub ahead of print date: 3 October 2017

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 415222
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/415222
ISSN: 1438-4639
PURE UUID: 7c49411b-e5a4-4b83-8ffe-f2fa91e7b171
ORCID for Allan G. Hill: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-4418-0379
ORCID for Jim A. Wright: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-8842-2181

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Date deposited: 02 Nov 2017 17:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 04:06

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Contributors

Author: Allan G. Hill ORCID iD
Author: Mawuli Dzodzomenyo
Author: Genevieve Aryeetey
Author: Jim A. Wright ORCID iD

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