An assessment of household water quality among Peace Corps volunteers in Guatemala
Abstract Background Gastrointestinal (GI) illness is the most commonly reported health concern among Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) serving in Guatemala. This project identified water types and treatment and storage practices used by PCVs and measured select water quality parameters in their househol...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:d2067061b40a4c1ea657f6bce89816b5 2023-05-15T15:14:17+02:00 An assessment of household water quality among Peace Corps volunteers in Guatemala Daniel E. Murphy Scott A. Poe Jennifer L. Murphy Rennie W. Ferguson Susan J. Henderson Paul Jung 2019-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1186/s40794-019-0078-8 https://doaj.org/article/d2067061b40a4c1ea657f6bce89816b5 EN eng BMC http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40794-019-0078-8 https://doaj.org/toc/2055-0936 doi:10.1186/s40794-019-0078-8 2055-0936 https://doaj.org/article/d2067061b40a4c1ea657f6bce89816b5 Tropical Diseases, Travel Medicine and Vaccines, Vol 5, Iss 1, Pp 1-6 (2019) Peace Corps Volunteers Traveler Gastrointestinal illness Drinking water Guatemala Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1186/s40794-019-0078-8 2022-12-31T14:19:36Z Abstract Background Gastrointestinal (GI) illness is the most commonly reported health concern among Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) serving in Guatemala. This project identified water types and treatment and storage practices used by PCVs and measured select water quality parameters in their household water. Methods A survey about water types and practices was conducted of PCVs in Guatemala. The water type most frequently consumed in the household (“primary drinking water”) and other water types present in the household (“secondary water”) were tested for free chlorine residual (FCR) and for the presence of Escherichia coli and total coliforms. A negative binomial regression model was used to analyze data on incidence of self-reported GI illness. Results Tambo (commercially purified water in a 5-gal bottle) was the water type most frequently (64%) reported as primary drinking water in 39 PCV households. Most (74%) PCVs reported drinking water other than primary drinking water ≥1 day per week; the incidence rate of GI illness per PCV per month was significantly lower among PCVs who reported never consuming water other than primary drinking water compared to those who did (0.4 and 1.6 GI illnesses per PCV per month, respectively) (p < 0.05). E. coli was not detected in any primary drinking water sample, but was detected in 35% of secondary water samples. Total coliforms were detected in more than two-thirds of primary drinking water and secondary water samples. Nearly all water samples had an FCR of < 0.2 mg/L. Conclusions Consuming primary drinking water exclusively likely contributes to reducing the rate of GI illness among PCVs. However, most PCVs reported drinking multiple water types, which may include contaminated secondary water types in the household. All water intended for consumption, including secondary sources within and outside the household, should be properly treated and safely stored. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Tropical Diseases, Travel Medicine and Vaccines 5 1 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Peace Corps Volunteers Traveler Gastrointestinal illness Drinking water Guatemala Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 |
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Peace Corps Volunteers Traveler Gastrointestinal illness Drinking water Guatemala Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Daniel E. Murphy Scott A. Poe Jennifer L. Murphy Rennie W. Ferguson Susan J. Henderson Paul Jung An assessment of household water quality among Peace Corps volunteers in Guatemala |
topic_facet |
Peace Corps Volunteers Traveler Gastrointestinal illness Drinking water Guatemala Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 |
description |
Abstract Background Gastrointestinal (GI) illness is the most commonly reported health concern among Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) serving in Guatemala. This project identified water types and treatment and storage practices used by PCVs and measured select water quality parameters in their household water. Methods A survey about water types and practices was conducted of PCVs in Guatemala. The water type most frequently consumed in the household (“primary drinking water”) and other water types present in the household (“secondary water”) were tested for free chlorine residual (FCR) and for the presence of Escherichia coli and total coliforms. A negative binomial regression model was used to analyze data on incidence of self-reported GI illness. Results Tambo (commercially purified water in a 5-gal bottle) was the water type most frequently (64%) reported as primary drinking water in 39 PCV households. Most (74%) PCVs reported drinking water other than primary drinking water ≥1 day per week; the incidence rate of GI illness per PCV per month was significantly lower among PCVs who reported never consuming water other than primary drinking water compared to those who did (0.4 and 1.6 GI illnesses per PCV per month, respectively) (p < 0.05). E. coli was not detected in any primary drinking water sample, but was detected in 35% of secondary water samples. Total coliforms were detected in more than two-thirds of primary drinking water and secondary water samples. Nearly all water samples had an FCR of < 0.2 mg/L. Conclusions Consuming primary drinking water exclusively likely contributes to reducing the rate of GI illness among PCVs. However, most PCVs reported drinking multiple water types, which may include contaminated secondary water types in the household. All water intended for consumption, including secondary sources within and outside the household, should be properly treated and safely stored. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Daniel E. Murphy Scott A. Poe Jennifer L. Murphy Rennie W. Ferguson Susan J. Henderson Paul Jung |
author_facet |
Daniel E. Murphy Scott A. Poe Jennifer L. Murphy Rennie W. Ferguson Susan J. Henderson Paul Jung |
author_sort |
Daniel E. Murphy |
title |
An assessment of household water quality among Peace Corps volunteers in Guatemala |
title_short |
An assessment of household water quality among Peace Corps volunteers in Guatemala |
title_full |
An assessment of household water quality among Peace Corps volunteers in Guatemala |
title_fullStr |
An assessment of household water quality among Peace Corps volunteers in Guatemala |
title_full_unstemmed |
An assessment of household water quality among Peace Corps volunteers in Guatemala |
title_sort |
assessment of household water quality among peace corps volunteers in guatemala |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40794-019-0078-8 https://doaj.org/article/d2067061b40a4c1ea657f6bce89816b5 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
Tropical Diseases, Travel Medicine and Vaccines, Vol 5, Iss 1, Pp 1-6 (2019) |
op_relation |
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40794-019-0078-8 https://doaj.org/toc/2055-0936 doi:10.1186/s40794-019-0078-8 2055-0936 https://doaj.org/article/d2067061b40a4c1ea657f6bce89816b5 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40794-019-0078-8 |
container_title |
Tropical Diseases, Travel Medicine and Vaccines |
container_volume |
5 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1766344755895074816 |