Quantification of exposure to fecal contamination in open drains in four neighborhoods in Accra, Ghana

Stephanie R Gretsch; Joseph A Ampofo; Kelly K Baker; Julie Clennon; Clair A Null; Dorothy Peprah; Heather Reese; Katharine Robb; Peter Teunis; Nii Wellington; Habib Yakubu; Christine L Moe

doi:10.2166/wh.2015.138

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Quantification of exposure to fecal contamination in open drains in four neighborhoods in Accra, Ghana

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Quantification of exposure to fecal contamination in open drains in four neighborhoods in Accra, Ghana

Stephanie R Gretsch, Joseph A Ampofo, Kelly K Baker, Julie Clennon, Clair A Null, Dorothy Peprah, Heather Reese, Katharine Robb, Peter Teunis, Nii Wellington, …

Journal of water and health, Vol.14(2), pp.255-266

04/2016

DOI: 10.2166/wh.2015.138

PMID: 27105411

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Abstract

In low-income countries, rapid urbanization adds pressure to already stressed water and sanitation systems that are critical to the health of communities. Drainage networks, designed for stormwater but commonly used for disposing of waste, are rarely covered completely, allowing residents to easily come into contact with their contents. This study used spatial mapping, documentation of physical drain characteristics, microbiological analysis of drain samples, and behavioral observation to comprehensively examine drains as a route of exposure to fecal contamination in four low-income neighborhoods in Accra, Ghana. A stochastic model of six likely exposure scenarios was constructed to estimate children's exposure to drain water. Regardless of the age of the child, any exposure scenario considered resulted in exposure to a high level of fecal contamination. Fecal contamination levels in drains were high (Escherichia coli: geometric mean (GM), 8.60 cfu log(10)/100 mL; coliphage: GM, 5.56 pfu log(10)/100 mL), and did not differ by neighborhood or physical drain characteristics, indicating that frequency of contact with drains, and not drain type or location, drives exposure risk. To mitigate health risks associated with this exposure, drains should be covered, with priority given to large concrete and small to medium dirt-lined drains that children were most commonly observed entering.

Humans

Environmental Monitoring - methods

Child, Preschool

Infant

Ghana

Environmental Exposure

Water Quality

Feces - microbiology

Escherichia coli - isolation & purification

Adolescent

Coliphages - isolation & purification

Child

Water Microbiology

Details

Title: Subtitle: Quantification of exposure to fecal contamination in open drains in four neighborhoods in Accra, Ghana
Creators: Stephanie R Gretsch - Center for Global Safe Water, Department of Epidemiology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
Joseph A Ampofo - Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Water Research Institute, Accra, Ghana
Kelly K Baker - Center for Global Safe Water, Department of Environmental Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA; Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
Julie Clennon - Center for Global Safe Water, Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
Clair A Null - Center for Global Safe Water, Hubert Department of Global Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Rd NE, Suite 6050, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA E-mail: karobb@emory.edu; Mathematica Policy Research, Princeton, NJ, USA; Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Cambridge, MA, USA
Dorothy Peprah - Center for Global Safe Water, Hubert Department of Global Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Rd NE, Suite 6050, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA E-mail: karobb@emory.edu
Heather Reese - Center for Global Safe Water, Department of Environmental Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
Katharine Robb - Center for Global Safe Water, Hubert Department of Global Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Rd NE, Suite 6050, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA E-mail: karobb@emory.edu
Peter Teunis - Center for Global Safe Water, Hubert Department of Global Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Rd NE, Suite 6050, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA E-mail: karobb@emory.edu; Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Cambridge, MA, USA; National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands
Nii Wellington - Training Research and Networking for Development (TREND Group), Accra, Ghana
Habib Yakubu - Center for Global Safe Water, Hubert Department of Global Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Rd NE, Suite 6050, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA E-mail: karobb@emory.edu
Christine L Moe - Center for Global Safe Water, Hubert Department of Global Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Rd NE, Suite 6050, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA E-mail: karobb@emory.edu
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Journal of water and health, Vol.14(2), pp.255-266
DOI: 10.2166/wh.2015.138
PMID: 27105411
NLM abbreviation: J Water Health
ISSN: 1477-8920
eISSN: 1996-7829
Publisher: England
Language: English
Date published: 04/2016
Academic Unit: Critical Care; Occupational and Environmental Health; Stead Family Department of Pediatrics; Epidemiology
Record Identifier: 9983997308602771

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