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.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Jan 17;16(2):257. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16020257.
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 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.
卫生基础设施的缺乏是全球腹泻病负担的一个主要原因，特别是在低收入国家。获得基本卫生设施被确定为 2015 年联合国可持续发展目标的一部分。然而，由于对安全性、公平性和清洁性的担忧，目前基本卫生基础设施的定义排除了社区或共享卫生设施。本研究的目的是测量和比较尼泊尔加德满都社区和家庭厕所表面的细菌污染情况。从两个社区和五个家庭厕所地点采集了 119 个棉签样本。社区厕所样本在每日清洁前后采集，而家庭样本在中午采集，以反映正常情况。使用膜过滤法测量总大肠菌群和的浓度。结果发现，社区和家庭厕所表面的细菌污染几乎没有差异，除了在肮脏条件下，社区厕所的便池/座污染更严重。该研究还确定了污染程度较高的表面。研究结果表明，维护良好的社区厕所可能与家庭厕所一样干净，甚至更干净，这支持在低收入国家使用社区厕所来改善卫生基础设施的获取。
