Reduction of cholera in Bangladeshi villages by simple filtration.
Based on results of ecological studies demonstrating that Vibrio cholerae, the etiological agent of epidemic cholera, is commensal to zooplankton, notably copepods, a simple filtration procedure was developed whereby zooplankton, most phytoplankton, and particulates >20 microm were removed from water before use. Effective deployment of this filtration procedure, from September 1999 through July 2002 in 65 villages of rural Bangladesh, of which the total population for the entire study comprised approximately 133,000 individuals, yielded a 48% reduction in cholera (P < 0.005) compared with the control.
Colwell
Rita R
RR
Center of Marine Biotechnology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Baltimore, MD 21202, USA. colwell@umbi.umd.edu
Huq
Anwar
A
Islam
M Sirajul
MS
Aziz
K M A
KM
Yunus
M
M
Khan
N Huda
NH
Mahmud
A
A
Sack
R Bradley
RB
Nair
G B
GB
Chakraborty
J
J
Sack
David A
DA
Russek-Cohen
E
E
D000818:Animals; D001459:Bangladesh; D002771:Cholera / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission; D003020:Clothing; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003906:Developing Countries; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005374:Filtration / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D010933:Plankton / Q000382:microbiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014734:Vibrio cholerae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014881:Water Supply