Bacterial Contamination on Latrine Surfaces in Community and Household Latrines in Kathmandu, Nepal

McGinnis, Shannon; Marini, Dianna; Amatya, Prakash; Murphy, Heather M.

doi:10.3390/ijerph16020257

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Bacterial Contamination on Latrine Surfaces in Community and Household Latrines in Kathmandu, Nepal

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Water, Health, and Applied Microbiology Lab (WHAM Lab), College of Public Health, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA

Aerosan Toilets, Halifax, Nova Scotia B4A 4J8, Canada

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(2), 257; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16020257

Received: 18 December 2018 / Revised: 2 January 2019 / Accepted: 10 January 2019 / Published: 17 January 2019

(This article belongs to the Section Global Health)

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Abstract

A lack of sanitation infrastructure is a major contributor to the global burden of diarrheal disease, particularly in low-income countries. Access to basic sanitation was identified as part of the 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. However, current definitions of “basic” sanitation infrastructure exclude community or shared sanitation, due to concerns around safety, equity, and cleanliness. The purpose of this study was to measure and compare bacterial contamination on community and household latrine surfaces in Kathmandu, Nepal. One hundred and nineteen swab samples were collected from two community and five household latrines sites. Community latrine samples were taken before and after daily cleaning, while household samples were collected at midday, to reflect normal conditions. Concentrations of total coliforms and Escherichia coli were measured using membrane filtration methods. Results found almost no differences between bacterial contamination on latrine surfaces in community and household latrines, with the exception of latrine slabs/seats that were more contaminated in the community latrines under dirty conditions. The study also identified surfaces with higher levels of contamination. Findings demonstrated that well-maintained community latrines may be as clean, or cleaner, than household latrines and support the use of community latrines for improving access to sanitation infrastructure in a low-income country setting. View Full-Text

Keywords: WASH; community sanitation; global health

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McGinnis, S.; Marini, D.; Amatya, P.; Murphy, H.M. Bacterial Contamination on Latrine Surfaces in Community and Household Latrines in Kathmandu, Nepal. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 257. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16020257

AMA Style

McGinnis S, Marini D, Amatya P, Murphy HM. Bacterial Contamination on Latrine Surfaces in Community and Household Latrines in Kathmandu, Nepal. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2019; 16(2):257. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16020257

Chicago/Turabian Style

McGinnis, Shannon, Dianna Marini, Prakash Amatya, and Heather M. Murphy. 2019. "Bacterial Contamination on Latrine Surfaces in Community and Household Latrines in Kathmandu, Nepal" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16, no. 2: 257. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16020257

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Bacterial Contamination on Latrine Surfaces in Community and Household Latrines in Kathmandu, Nepal

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