The chulli water purifier: acceptability and effectiveness of an innovative strategy for household water treatment in Bangladesh.
To evaluate the effectiveness of the chulli water purifier, a new household water treatment strategy in Bangladesh that relies on passing water through a stove, we interviewed persons who had this water purifier. From households using it regularly, we tested untreated water, sand-filtered water without heat pasteurization, sand-filtered and heat pasteurized water, and household stored, treated water. Reasons for discontinuing use among 80 of 101 persons included mechanical problems (49%), inconvenience (35%), and high cost (10%). Only four households were regularly using the purifier. Three (19%) of 16 heat-treated samples were positive for Escherichia coli. The median log reduction from source water was > 5. Nine (56%) stored water samples were positive for E. coli, indicating recontamination. Poor durability, inconvenience, high cost, and post-treatment contamination limit the usefulness of the purifier. These issues, which are relevant for other household water treatment strategies, should be resolved before further implementation.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. scg7@ug.cdc.gov
Sundeep K
SK
Gupta
M S
MS
Islam
Richard
R
Johnston
Pavani Kalluri
PK
Ram
Stephen P
SP
Luby
D000328:Adult; D001459:Bangladesh; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003625:Data Collection; D004203:Disinfection / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014881:Water Supply / Q000592:standards*
D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical