title: Targeting appropriate interventions to minimize deterioration of drinking-water quality in developing countries.
abstract: In developing countries, it has been observed that drinking-water frequently becomes recontaminated following its collection and during storage in the home. This paper proposes a semi-quantified 'disease risk index' (DRI) designed to identify communities or households that are 'most at risk' from consuming recontaminated drinking-water. A brief review of appropriate physical and educational intervention measures is presented, and their effective use is discussed. It is concluded that incorporating a simple appraisal tool, such as the proposed DRI, into a community water-supply programme would be useful in shaping the overall strategy requiring only a minimum of organizational learning.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Unit, World Health Organization, GPO Box 250, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh. trevetta@searo.who.int
authors.forename: Andrew F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Trevett
authors.forename: Richard C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Carter
mesh_terms: D003906:Developing Countries; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene; D011634:Public Health; D011786:Quality Control; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012424:Rural Population; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000592:standards*
chemical_list: D014873:Water Pollutants