Associations between open drain flooding and pediatric enteric infections in the MAL-ED cohort in a low-income, urban neighborhood in Vellore, India

Authors: D. Berendes, J. Leon, A. Kirby, J. Clennon, S. Raj, H. Yakubu, K. Robb, A. Kartikeyan, P. Hemavathy, A. Gunasekaran, S. Roy, B. Ghale, J. Kumar, V. Mohan, G. Kang, CL Moe

Abstract:

Background: Open drains are common methods of transporting solid waste and excreta in low-income urban neighborhoods. Open drains can overflow due to blockages with solid waste and during rainfall, posing exposure risks. The goal of this study was to evaluate whether pediatric enteric infection was associated with open drains and flooding in a dense, low-income, urban neighborhood.

Methods: As part of the MAL-ED study in Vellore, India, a cohort of 230 children provided stool specimens at 14–17 scheduled home visits and during diarrheal episodes in the first two years of life. All specimens were analyzed for enteric pathogens. Caregivers in 100 households reported on flooding of drains and households and monthly frequency of contact with open drains and flood water. Household GPS points were collected. Monthly rainfall totals for the Vellore district were collected from the Indian Meteorological Department. Clustering of reported drain and house flooding were identified by Kulldorff’s Bernoulli Spatial Scan. Differences in enteric infection were assessed for household responses and spatial clusters, with interactions between reported flooding and rainfall to approximate monthly drain flooding retrospectively, using multivariable, mixed-effects logistic regression models.

Results: Coverage of household toilets was low (33%), and most toilets (82%) discharged directly into open drains, suggesting poor neighborhood fecal sludge management. Odds of enteric infection increased significantly with total monthly rainfall for children who lived in households that reported that the nearby drain flooded (4% increase per cm of rain: OR: 1.04, 95% CI: 1.00–1.08) and for children in households in a downstream spatial cluster of reported drain flooding (5% increase per cm of rain: OR: 1.05, 95% CI: 1.01–1.09). There was no association between odds of enteric infection and frequency of reported contact with drain or floodwater.

Conclusions: Children in areas susceptible to open drain flooding had increased odds of enteric infection as rainfall increased. Results suggested that infection increased with rainfall due to neighborhood infrastructure (including poor fecal sludge management) and not frequency of contact. Thus, these exposures may not be mitigated by changes in personal behaviors alone. These results underscore the importance of improving the neighborhood environment to improve children’s health in low-income, urban settings.

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Children Are Exposed to Fecal Contamination via Multiple Interconnected Pathways: A Network Model for Exposure Assessment

Authors: Yuke Wang, Christine L. Moe, Peter F. M. Teunis

Abstract: In recent decades, quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) has been widely used to assess exposure to fecal microbes and associated health risks. In this study, a multipathway exposure assessment model was developed to evaluate exposure to fecal microbes for children under 5 in highly contaminated urban environments. Children had contact with various environmental compartments. The contamination levels of these compartments were estimated from fecal indicator counts in the environmental samples. Structured observations of child behavior (including activities, locations, and time) were used to model behavioral sequences as a dynamic network. The exposure model combines behavior sequences with environmental contamination, using additional exposure factors when needed, to estimate the number of fecal microbes transferred from environmental sources to human oral ingestion. As fecal exposure in a highly contaminated urban environment consists of contributions from multiple pathways, it is imperative to study their relative importance. READ MORE

Urban sanitation coverage and environmental fecal contamination: Links between the household and public environments of Accra, Ghana

Authors: David M. Berendes, Amy E. Kirby, Julie A. Clennon, Chantal Agbemabiese, Joseph A. Ampofo, George E. Armah, Kelly K. Baker, Pengbo Liu, Heather E. Reese, Katharine A. Robb, Nii Wellington, Habib Yakubu, Christine L. Moe

Abstract: Exposure to fecal contamination in public areas, especially in dense, urban environments, may significantly contribute to enteric infection risk. This study examined associations between sanitation and fecal contamination in public environments in four low-income neighborhoods in Accra, Ghana. Soil (n = 72) and open drain (n = 90) samples were tested for E. coli, adenovirus, and norovirus. Sanitation facilities in surveyed households (n = 793) were categorized by onsite fecal sludge containment (“contained” vs. “uncontained”) using previous Joint Monitoring Program infrastructure guidelines. Most sanitation facilities were shared by multiple households. READ MORE

Within-Compound Versus Public Latrine Access and Child Feces Disposal Practices in Low-Income Neighborhoods of Accra, Ghana

Authors: Rebecca Lyn Ritter, Dorothy Peprah, Clair Null, Christine L. Moe, George Armah, Joseph Ampofo, Nii Wellington, Habib Yakubu, Katharine Robb, Amy E. Kirby, Yuke Wang, Katherine Roguski, Heather Reese, Chantal A. Agbemabiese, Lady Asantewa B. Adomako, Matthew C. Freeman, Kelly K. Baker

Abstract: In crowded urban settlements in low-income countries, many households rely on shared sanitation facilities. Shared facilities are not currently considered “improved sanitation” because of concerns about whether hygiene conditions sufficiently protect users from the feces of others. Prevention of fecal exposure at a latrine is only one aspect of sanitary safety. Ensuring consistent use of latrines for feces disposal, especially child feces, is required to reduce fecal contamination in households and communities. Household crowding and shared latrine access are correlated in these settings, rendering latrine use by neighbors sharing communal living areas as critically important for protecting one’s own household. This study in Accra, Ghana, found that household access to a within-compound basic latrine was associated with higher latrine use by children of ages 5-12 years and for disposal of feces of children < 5 years, compared with households using public latrines.READ MORE

Multipathway Quantitative Assessment of Exposure to Fecal Contamination for Young Children in Low-Income Urban Environments in Accra, Ghana: The SaniPath Analytical Approach

Authors: Yuke Wang, Christine L. Moe, Clair Null, Suraja J. Raj, Kelly K. Baker, Katharine A. Robb, Habib Yakubu, Joseph A. Ampofo, Nii Wellington, Matthew C. Freeman, George Armah, Heather E. Reese, Dorothy Peprah, Peter F. M. Teunis

Abstract: Lack of adequate sanitation results in fecal contamination of the environment and poses a risk of disease transmission via multiple exposure pathways. To better understand how eight different sources contribute to overall exposure to fecal contamination, we quantified exposure through multiple pathways for children under 5 years old in four high-density, low-income, urban neighborhoods in Accra, Ghana. We collected more than 500 hours of structured observation of behaviors of 156 children, 800 household surveys, and 1,855 environmental samples. Data were analyzed using Bayesian models, estimating the environmental and behavioral factors associated with exposure to fecal contamination. READ MORE