Effects of sachet water consumption on exposure to microbe-contaminated drinking water: Household survey evidence from Ghana

Jim Wright, Mawuli Dzodzomenyo, Nicola A. Wardrop, Richard Johnston, Allan Hill, Genevieve Aryeetey, Richard Adanu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

There remain few nationally representative studies of drinking water quality at the point of consumption in developing countries. This study aimed to examine factors associated with E. coli contamination in Ghana. It drew on a nationally representative household survey, the 2012–2013 Living Standards Survey 6, which incorporated a novel water quality module. E. coli contamination in 3096 point-of-consumption samples was examined using multinomial regression. Surface water use was the strongest risk factor for high E. coli contamination (relative risk ratio (RRR) = 32.3, p < 0.001), whilst packaged (sachet or bottled) water use had the greatest protective effect (RRR = 0.06, p < 0.001), compared to water piped to premises. E. coli contamination followed plausible patterns with digit preference (tendency to report values ending in zero) in bacteria counts. The analysis suggests packaged drinking water use provides some protection against point-of-consumption E. coli contamination and may therefore benefit public health. It also suggests viable water quality data can be collected alongside household surveys, but field protocols require further revision.

Original languageEnglish
Article number303
JournalInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Volume13
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 9 Mar 2016

Keywords

  • Beverages
  • Drinking water
  • Escherichia coli
  • Survey methodology
  • West Africa

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Effects of sachet water consumption on exposure to microbe-contaminated drinking water: Household survey evidence from Ghana'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this