Ssemakalu Cornelius Cano, Ubomba-Jaswa Eunice, Motaung Keolebogile Shirley, Pillay Michael
Faculty of Applied and Computer Sciences, Vaal University of Technology, Vanderbijlpark 1900, South Africa E-mail:
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Natural Resource and the Environment, P.O. Box 395, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
J Water Health. 2014 Sep;12(3):393-8. doi: 10.2166/wh.2014.158.
Cholera remains a problem in developing countries. This is attributed to the unavailability of proper water treatment, sanitary infrastructure and poor hygiene. As a consequence, countries facing cholera outbreaks rely on interventions such as the use of oral rehydration therapy and antibiotics to save lives. In addition to vaccination, the provision of chlorine tablets and hygiene sensitization drives have been used to prevent new cholera infections. The implementation of these interventions remains a challenge due to constraints associated with the cost, ease of use and technical knowhow. These challenges have been reduced through the use of solar water disinfection (SODIS). The success of SODIS in mitigating the risk associated with the consumption of waterborne pathogens has been associated with solar irradiation. This has prompted a lot of focus on the solar component for enhanced disinfection. However, the role played by the host immune system following the consumption of solar-irradiated water pathogens has not received any significant attention. The mode of inactivation resulting from the exposure of microbiologically contaminated water results in immunologically important microbial states as well as components. In this review, the possible influence that solar water disinfection may have on the immunity against cholera is discussed.
