Fecal Contamination of Drinking Water Was Associated with Diarrheal Pathogen Carriage among Children Younger than 5 Years in Three Peruvian Rural Communities

Maguiña, Edson; Castillo, Rosa; Tilley, Drake H.; Meza, Yocelinda; Loyola Sosa, Steev Orlando; Heitzinger, Kristen; Lescano Guevara, Andres Guillermo; Canal, Enrique; Oswald, William E.; Sanchez, Juan F.; Rocha, Claudio A.; Bernal, Manuela

dc.contributor.author	Loyola Sosa, Steev Orlando
dc.contributor.author	Sanchez, Juan F.
dc.contributor.author	Maguiña, Edson
dc.contributor.author	Canal, Enrique
dc.contributor.author	Castillo, Rosa
dc.contributor.author	Bernal, Manuela
dc.contributor.author	Meza, Yocelinda
dc.contributor.author	Tilley, Drake H.
dc.contributor.author	Oswald, William E.
dc.contributor.author	Heitzinger, Kristen
dc.contributor.author	Lescano Guevara, Andres Guillermo
dc.contributor.author	Rocha, Claudio A.
dc.date.accessioned	2020-07-14T00:02:32Z
dc.date.available	2020-07-14T00:02:32Z
dc.date.issued	2020
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12866/8332
dc.description.abstract	Drinking water contamination is a frequent problem in developing countries and could be associated with bacterial pathogen carriage in feces. We evaluated the association between the risk of drinking water and bacterial carrier status in children younger than 5 years in a cross-sectional study conducted in 199 households from three Peruvian rural communities. Fecal samples from children were screened for pathogenic Aeromonas, Campylobacter, and Vibrio species, as well as for Enterobacteriaceae, including pathogenic Escherichia coli. The drinking water risk was determined using E. coli as an indicator of contamination. Nineteen (9.5%) children were colonized with pathogens and classified as carriers, all without diarrhea symptoms. Of 199 drinking water samples, 38 (19.1%) were classified as very high risk because of high fecal contamination (> 100 E. coli/100 mL). Shared-use water sources, daily washing of containers, and washing using only water were associated with higher prevalence of bacterial carriage, whereas there was no association between households reporting boiling and chlorination of water and carrier status. The prevalence of carriage in children exposed to very high-risk water was 2.82 (95% CI: 1.21-6.59) times the prevalence of those who consumed less contaminated water, adjusted by the water source and daily washing. Our results suggest that household drinking water plays an important role in the generation of carriers with diarrheal pathogens. Our findings also highlight the importance of interventions to ensure the safety of drinking water. Further studies are needed to validate the observed association and determine its significance with respect to diarrhea in the community.	en_US
dc.language.iso	eng
dc.publisher	American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
dc.relation.ispartofseries	American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH Journal)
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess
dc.subject	Fecal Contamination	en_US
dc.subject	Drinking Water	en_US
dc.subject	Diarrheal Pathogen Carriage	en_US
dc.subject	Children	en_US
dc.subject	Peruvian Rural Communities	en_US
dc.title	Fecal Contamination of Drinking Water Was Associated with Diarrheal Pathogen Carriage among Children Younger than 5 Years in Three Peruvian Rural Communities	en_US
dc.type	info:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.identifier.doi	https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.19-0337
dc.subject.ocde	https://purl.org/pe-repo/ocde/ford#3.03.06
dc.relation.issn	1476-1645