Reduction of cholera in Bangladeshi villages by simple filtration

Rita R. Colwell(University of Maryland, Baltimore), Anwar Huq(University of Maryland, Baltimore), M. Sirajul Islam(University of Maryland, Baltimore), K. M. A. Aziz(University of Maryland, Baltimore), Mohammad Yunus(University of Maryland, Baltimore), Nisha Khan(University of Maryland, Baltimore), Ayesha S. Mahmud(University of Maryland, Baltimore), R. Bradley Sack(University of Maryland, Baltimore), G. Balakrish Nair(University of Maryland, Baltimore), J. Chakraborty(University of Maryland, Baltimore), David A. Sack(University of Maryland, Baltimore), Estelle Russek‐Cohen(University of Maryland, Baltimore)
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
January 14, 2003
Cited by 389Open Access
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Abstract

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.


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