Analyses of drinking water quality during a protracted cholera epidemic in Malawi - a cross-sectional study of key physicochemical and microbiological parameters.

Autor:	Sokemawu Freeman AY; World Health Organization Emergency Preparedness and Response Hub, Nairobi, Kenya., Ganizani A; Ministry of Health, Lilongwe, Malawi., Mwale AC; Ministry of Health, Lilongwe, Malawi., Manda IK; Ministry of Water and Sanitation, Lilongwe, Malawi., Chitete J; Ministry of Water and Sanitation, Lilongwe, Malawi., Phiri G; Ministry of Water and Sanitation, Lilongwe, Malawi., Stambuli B; Ministry of Water and Sanitation, Lilongwe, Malawi., Chimulambe E; Ministry of Water and Sanitation, Lilongwe, Malawi., Koslengar M; United Nations Children Fund Country Office, Lilongwe, Malawi., Kimambo NR; World Health Organization Country Office, Lilongwe, Malawi., Bita A; World Health Organization Country Office, Lilongwe, Malawi., Apolot RR; World Health Organization Country Office, Lilongwe, Malawi., Mponda H; World Health Organization Country Office, Lilongwe, Malawi., Mungwira RG; World Health Organization Country Office, Lilongwe, Malawi., Chapotera G; World Health Organization Country Office, Lilongwe, Malawi., Yur CT; World Health Organization Emergency Preparedness and Response Hub, Nairobi, Kenya., Yatich NJ; World Health Organization Emergency Preparedness and Response Hub, Nairobi, Kenya., Totah T; World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo., Mantchombe F; World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo., Chamla DD; World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo., Olu OO; World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo E-mail: oluo@who.int.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	Journal of water and health [J Water Health] 2024 Mar; Vol. 22 (3), pp. 510-521. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Feb 07.
DOI:	10.2166/wh.2024.283
Abstrakt:	Anecdotal evidence and available literature indicated that contaminated water played a major role in spreading the prolonged cholera epidemic in Malawi from 2022 to 2023. This study assessed drinking water quality in 17 cholera-affected Malawi districts from February to April 2023. Six hundred and thirty-three records were analysed. The median counts/100 ml for thermotolerant coliform was 98 (interquartile range (IQR): 4-100) and that for Escherichia coli was 0 (IQR: 0-9). The drinking water in all (except one) districts was contaminated by thermotolerant coliform, while six districts had their drinking water sources contaminated by E. coli. The percentage of contaminated drinking water sources was significantly higher in shallow unprotected wells (80.0% for E. coli and 95.0% for thermotolerant coliform) and in households (55.8% for E. coli and 86.0% for thermotolerant coliform). Logistic regression showed that household water has three times more risk of being contaminated by E. coli and two and a half times more risk of being contaminated by thermotolerant coliform compared to other water sources. This study demonstrated widespread contamination of drinking water sources during a cholera epidemic in Malawi, which may be the plausible reason for the protracted nature of the epidemic. Competing Interests: The authors declare there is no conflict. (© 2024 The Authors This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY 4.0), which permits copying, adaptation and redistribution, provided the original work is properly cited (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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