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International Journal of Environmental... May 2020Hand hygiene is of utmost importance as it may be contaminated easily from direct contact with airborne microorganism droplets from coughs and sneezes. Particularly in...
Hand hygiene is of utmost importance as it may be contaminated easily from direct contact with airborne microorganism droplets from coughs and sneezes. Particularly in situations like pandemic outbreak, it is crucial to interrupt the transmission chain of the virus by the practice of proper hand sanitization. It can be achieved with contact isolation and strict infection control tool like maintaining good hand hygiene in hospital settings and in public. The success of the hand sanitization solely depends on the use of effective hand disinfecting agents formulated in various types and forms such as antimicrobial soaps, water-based or alcohol-based hand sanitizer, with the latter being widely used in hospital settings. To date, most of the effective hand sanitizer products are alcohol-based formulations containing 62%-95% of alcohol as it can denature the proteins of microbes and the ability to inactivate viruses. This systematic review correlated with the data available in Pubmed, and it will investigate the range of available hand sanitizers and their effectiveness as well as the formulation aspects, adverse effects, and recommendations to enhance the formulation efficiency and safety. Further, this article highlights the efficacy of alcohol-based hand sanitizer against the coronavirus.
Topics: Disease Outbreaks; Disinfectants; Ethanol; Hand Disinfection; Hand Hygiene; Hand Sanitizers; Humans; Infection Control; Soaps; Viruses; Water
PubMed: 32403261
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17093326 -
Environment International Nov 2018The implementation of the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has resulted in an increased focus on... (Review)
Review
The implementation of the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has resulted in an increased focus on developing innovative, sustainable sanitation techniques to address the demand for adequate and equitable sanitation in low-income areas. We examined the background, current situation, challenges, and perspectives of global sanitation. We used bibliometric analysis and word cluster analysis to evaluate sanitation research from 1992 to 2016 based on the Science Citation Index EXPANDED (SCI-EXPANDED) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) databases. Our results show that sanitation is a comprehensive field connected with multiple categories, and the increasing number of publications reflects a strong interest in this research area. Most of the research took place in developed countries, especially the USA, although sanitation problems are more serious in developing countries. Innovations in sanitation techniques may keep susceptible populations from contracting diseases caused by various kinds of contaminants and microorganisms. Hence, the hygienization of human excreta, resource recovery, and removal of micro-pollutants from excreta can serve as effective sustainable solutions. Commercialized technologies, like composting, anaerobic digestion, and storage, are reliable but still face challenges in addressing the links between the political, social, institutional, cultural, and educational aspects of sanitation. Innovative technologies, such as Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs), Microbial Electrolysis Cells (MECs), and struvite precipitation, are at the TRL (Technology readiness levels) 8 level, meaning that they qualify as "actual systems completed and qualified through test and demonstration." Solutions that take into consideration economic feasibility and all the different aspects of sanitation are required. There is an urgent demand for holistic solutions considering government support, social acceptability, as well as technological reliability that can be effectively adapted to local conditions.
Topics: Humans; Internationality; Research; Sanitation
PubMed: 30103124
DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2018.07.047 -
International Journal For Equity in... Dec 2017Recent evidence points to the possible underestimation of the health and nutrition impact of sanitation. Community sanitation coverage may first need to reach thresholds...
Recent evidence points to the possible underestimation of the health and nutrition impact of sanitation. Community sanitation coverage may first need to reach thresholds in the order of 60% or higher, to optimize health and nutrition gains. Increasing coverage of sanitation to levels below 60% of community coverage may not result in substantial gains. For example, moving Indonesia from 60% to 100% improved sanitation coverage could significantly reduce diarrhoea in children under 5 years old (by an estimated 24% reduction in odds ratio for child diarrhoea morbidity) with gains split equally by reaching underserved communities and the unserved within communities. We review the implications of these results across three levels of program implementation - from micro level approaches (that support communities to achieve open defecation-free status), to meso level (sub-national implementation) to macro level approaches for the national enabling environment and the global push to the Sustainable Development Goals. We found significant equity implications and recommend that future studies focus more extensively on community coverage levels and verified community open defecation free status rather than household access alone. Sanitation practitioners may consider developing phased approaches to improving water, sanitation and hygiene in communities while prioritizing the unserved or underserved.
Topics: Conservation of Natural Resources; Defecation; Diarrhea; Family Characteristics; Health Equity; Humans; Hygiene; Nutritional Status; Poverty; Residence Characteristics; Sanitation; Toilet Facilities; Water Supply
PubMed: 29212501
DOI: 10.1186/s12939-017-0709-5 -
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases Dec 2014Access to "safe" water and "adequate" sanitation are emphasized as important measures for schistosomiasis control. Indeed, the schistosomes' lifecycles suggest that... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
BACKGROUND
Access to "safe" water and "adequate" sanitation are emphasized as important measures for schistosomiasis control. Indeed, the schistosomes' lifecycles suggest that their transmission may be reduced through safe water and adequate sanitation. However, the evidence has not previously been compiled in a systematic review.
METHODOLOGY
We carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies reporting schistosome infection rates in people who do or do not have access to safe water and adequate sanitation. PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched from inception to 31 December 2013, without restrictions on year of publication or language. Studies' titles and abstracts were screened by two independent assessors. Papers deemed of interest were read in full and appropriate studies included in the meta-analysis. Publication bias was assessed through the visual inspection of funnel plots and through Egger's test. Heterogeneity of datasets within the meta-analysis was quantified using Higgins' I2.
PRINCIPAL FINDINGS
Safe water supplies were associated with significantly lower odds of schistosomiasis (odds ratio (OR) = 0.53, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.47-0.61). Adequate sanitation was associated with lower odds of Schistosoma mansoni, (OR = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.47-0.73) and Schistosoma haematobium (OR = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.57-0.84). Included studies were mainly cross-sectional and quality was largely poor.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE
Our systematic review and meta-analysis suggests that increasing access to safe water and adequate sanitation are important measures to reduce the odds of schistosome infection. However, most of the studies were observational and quality was poor. Hence, there is a pressing need for adequately powered cluster randomized trials comparing schistosome infection risk with access to safe water and adequate sanitation, more studies which rigorously define water and sanitation, and new research on the relationships between water, sanitation, hygiene, human behavior, and schistosome transmission.
Topics: Cross-Sectional Studies; Humans; Sanitation; Schistosomiasis; Water Quality; Water Supply
PubMed: 25474705
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0003296 -
Environmental Science & Technology May 2021Many sanitation interventions suffer from poor sustainability. Failure to maintain or replace toilet facilities risks exposing communities to environmental pathogens,...
Many sanitation interventions suffer from poor sustainability. Failure to maintain or replace toilet facilities risks exposing communities to environmental pathogens, yet little is known about the factors that drive sustained access beyond project life spans. Using data from a cohort of 1666 households in Kwale County, Kenya, we investigated the factors associated with changes in sanitation access between 2015 and 2017. Sanitation access is defined as access to an improved or unimproved facility within the household compound that is functional and in use. A range of contextual, psychosocial, and technological covariates were included in logistic regression models to estimate their associations with (1) the odds of sustaining sanitation access and (2) the odds of gaining sanitation access. Over two years, 28.3% households sustained sanitation access, 4.7% lost access, 17.7% gained access, and 49.2% remained without access. Factors associated with increased odds of households sustaining sanitation access included not sharing the facility and presence of a solid washable slab. Factors associated with increased odds of households gaining sanitation access included a head with at least secondary school education, level of coarse soil fragments, and higher local sanitation coverage. Results from this study can be used by sanitation programs to improve the rates of initial and sustained adoption of sanitation.
Topics: Family Characteristics; Humans; Kenya; Sanitation; Soil; Toilet Facilities
PubMed: 33826310
DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.0c05647 -
Trends in Parasitology Jan 2018The World Health Organization's (WHO) 2015-2020 Global Strategy on water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) encourages integration,... (Review)
Review
The World Health Organization's (WHO) 2015-2020 Global Strategy on water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) encourages integration, whilst maintaining existing structured NTD investments, and acceleration towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets. Accordingly, SDG-associated and WASH-NTD indicators have been developed, commencing important intersectoral dialogue, alongside opportunities for future disease-specific refinements. The rationale for soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH)- and schistosomiasis-specific WASH considerations, and a traffic-light figure, are presented here to indicate where current international definitions may, or may not, suffice. Certain unique aspects in control dynamics and parasitic lifecycles, however, necessitate additional implementation research with more appropriate measurement indicators developed to record programmatic interventions and to define strategic priorities more effectively.
Topics: Disease Eradication; Helminthiasis; Humans; Hygiene; Sanitation; Schistosomiasis; Soil; Water; World Health Organization
PubMed: 29055522
DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2017.09.004 -
Journal of Environmental Management Jun 2018The wide-spread prevalence of unimproved sanitation technologies has been a major cause of concern for the environment and public health, and China is no exception to...
The wide-spread prevalence of unimproved sanitation technologies has been a major cause of concern for the environment and public health, and China is no exception to this. Towards the sanitation issue, toilet revolution has become a buzzword in China recently. This paper elaborates the backgrounds, connotations, and actions of the toilet revolution in China. The toilet revolution aims to create sanitation infrastructure and public services that work for everyone and that turn waste into value. Opportunities for implementing the toilet revolution include: fulfilling Millennium Development Goals and new Sustainable Development Goals; government support at all levels for popularizing sanitary toilet; environmental protection to alleviate wastewater pollution; resource recovery from human waste and disease prevention for health and wellbeing improvement. Meanwhile, the challenges faced are: insufficient funding and policy support, regional imbalance and lagging approval processes, weak sanitary awareness and low acceptance of new toilets, lack of R&D and service system. The toilet revolution requires a concerted effort from many governmental departments. It needs to address not only technology implementation, but also social acceptance, economic affordability, maintenance issues and, increasingly, gender considerations. Aligned with the ecological sanitation principles, it calls for understanding issues across the entire sanitation service chain. Public-private partnership is also recommended to absorb private capital to make up the lack of funds, as well as arouse the enthusiasm of the public.
Topics: China; Conservation of Natural Resources; Humans; Public Health; Sanitation; Toilet Facilities
PubMed: 28941832
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.09.043 -
American Journal of Public Health Oct 2020To estimate the population lacking at least basic water and sanitation access in the urban United States. We compared national estimates of water and sanitation access...
To estimate the population lacking at least basic water and sanitation access in the urban United States. We compared national estimates of water and sanitation access from the World Health Organization/United Nations Children's Fund Joint Monitoring Program with estimates from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development on homelessness and the American Community Survey on household water and sanitation facilities. We estimated that at least 930 000 persons in US cities lacked sustained access to at least basic sanitation and 610 000 to at least basic water access, as defined by the United Nations. After accounting for those experiencing homelessness and substandard housing, our estimate of people lacking at least basic water equaled current estimates (n = 610 000)-without considering water quality-and greatly exceeded estimates of sanitation access (n = 28 000). Methods to estimate water and sanitation access in the United States should include people experiencing homelessness and other low-income groups, and specific policies are needed to reduce disparities in urban sanitation. We recommend similar estimation efforts for other high-income countries currently reported as having near universal sanitation access.
Topics: Drinking Water; Humans; Poverty; Public Health; Sanitation; United States; Urban Population; Water Supply
PubMed: 32816545
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2020.305833 -
The American Journal of Tropical... Apr 2019In 2012, approximately 5.6 million Zambians did not have access to improved sanitation and around 2.1 million practiced open defecation. The Zambia Sanitation and...
In 2012, approximately 5.6 million Zambians did not have access to improved sanitation and around 2.1 million practiced open defecation. The Zambia Sanitation and Hygiene Program (ZSHP), featuring community-led total sanitation, began in November 2011 to increase the use of improved sanitation facilities and adopt positive hygiene practices. Using a pre- and post-design approach with a population-level survey, after 3 years of implementation, we evaluated the impact of ZSHP in randomly selected households in 50 standard enumeration areas (representing 26 of 65 program districts). We interviewed caregivers of children younger than 5 years old (1,204 and 1,170 female caregivers at baseline and end line, respectively) and inspected household toilet facilities and sites for washing hands. At end line, 80% of households had access to improved sanitation facilities versus 64.1% at baseline (prevalence ratio [PR] = 1.25; 95% CI: 1.18-1.31) and 14.1% did not have a toilet facility compared with 19.4% at baseline. At end line, 10.6% of households reported living in an open defecation-free certified village compared with 0.3% at baseline (PR = 32.0; 95% CI: 11.9-86.4). In addition, at end line, 33.4% of households had a specific place for washing hands and 61.4% of caregivers reported handwashing with a washing agent after defecation or before preparing food compared with 21.1% (PR = 1.59; 95% CI: 1.39-1.82) and 55.2% (PR = 1.11; 95% CI: 1.04-1.19) at baseline, respectively. Community-led total sanitation implementation in Zambia led to improvements in access to improved sanitation facilities, reduced open defecation, and better handwashing practices. There is however a need for enhanced investment in sanitation and hygiene promotion.
Topics: Adult; Caregivers; Child, Preschool; Community Participation; Defecation; Diarrhea; Female; Humans; Hygiene; Infant; Male; Prevalence; Rural Population; Sanitation; Toilet Facilities; Young Adult; Zambia
PubMed: 30793687
DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.18-0632 -
BMC Public Health Jul 2022Within the past two decades, Ethiopia has achieved one of the fastest reductions of open defecation worldwide. This change can be attributed to the implementation of a...
BACKGROUND
Within the past two decades, Ethiopia has achieved one of the fastest reductions of open defecation worldwide. This change can be attributed to the implementation of a national sanitation strategy that focused on facilitating community demand for latrine adoption and use of basic self-constructed latrines but less on other preconditions of hygienic sanitation. Recognition of sanitation by policymakers also catalyzed primary research in this area. As such, the synthesis of the available evidence is both warranted and possible. In this article, we thus decided to assess available primary evidence on the household-level sanitation in Ethiopia and its influencing factors.
METHODS
We searched primary studies that present findings on the role of factors influencing household-level sanitation outcomes in Ethiopia. We typologically classified sanitation outcomes analyzed in identified literature and computed pooled estimates for the most prevalent ones (measures of latrine availability and use). We characterized thematic types (themes and sub-themes) of influential sanitation drivers and used network analysis to examine the relational patterns between sanitation outcomes and their influencing factors.
FINDINGS
We identified 37 studies that met our inclusion criteria-all but one published after 2009. The general latrine coverage pooled across 23 studies was 70% (95% CI: 62-77%), the share of improved latrines pooled across 15 studies was 55% (95% CI: 41-68%), and latrine use pooled across 22 studies was 72% (95% CI: 64-79%). Between-study heterogeneity was high, and no time trends were identified. The identified sanitation outcomes were classified into eight types and factors reported to influence these outcomes were classified into 11 broader themes and 43 more specific sub-themes. Factors around the quality of latrines represented the most frequent sub-theme of consequential drivers. We found that the available research focused predominantly on outcomes concerning the initial adoption and use of basic latrines, emulating the main focus of national sanitation strategy. By contrast, research on drivers of the sustainability of sanitation change and, in particular, on the upgrading of latrines, has been rare despite its urgency. There is a high need to redirect the focus of sanitation research in Ethiopia towards understanding these factors on both the demand and supply side.
Topics: Ethiopia; Family Characteristics; Humans; Hygiene; Rural Population; Sanitation; Toilet Facilities
PubMed: 35906616
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-022-13822-5