Cholera and household water treatment why communities do not treat water after a cholera outbreak: a case study in Limpopo Province

Background: Cholera is one of the common diseases in developing countries caused by consumption of contaminated and untreated drinking water. A study was conducted 7 months after a cholera outbreak in Vhembe district, Limpopo, South Africa. The aim of the study was to assess if the communities were still conforming to safe water practices after an outbreak of cholera. Methodology: One hundred and fifty-two (152) participants from 11 villages were recruited to form 21 focus groups, with a mean of 7. The interview transcripts were coded and arranged based on the study themes. Results: Of the 21 groups in 11 villages, three villages were using water from boreholes, six were using river water and three were using mixed sources which included river, canal and spring water, three depended on municipal tanks and only six were using tap water. Only 19% of the respondents treated their water, even though the majority of communities reported treatment of water as a priority. Four villages claimed they never received environmental health education at all, while most of the villages confirmed they received education during a cholera outbreak. Conclusion: Regardless of the outbreak and health education efforts done, communities continued using unprotected water sources without any form of treatment, as they perceived it to be unimportant. Sustainable water supplies and environmental health education should be continued after an outbreak as it is important for public health gains

Public Health and Social Benefits of at-house Water Supplies

A mix of secondary and primary research was conducted to examine the hypothesis that access to an at-house water supply will deliver significantly greater health, social and economic benefits than those derived from a shared public water supply. The research was carried out by a team from the University of Leeds, University of North Carolina, University of East Anglia, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and University College London, and was based on a mix of literature review and field-base case studies. Fieldwork was carried out in three countries; Ghana, South Africa and Vietnam and used a mix of data collection methods, specifically a three-part household questionnaire, which included anthropometric measures and the measurement of water collection journeys, natural group discussions, and contextual checklists. The headline conclusion from the research is that at-home water supply has significant, measurable benefits when compared with shared water supply outside the home provided that the service provided is reliable enough to ensure access to adequate quantities of water when required. Reliable at-home water supply results in higher volumes of water consumed, greater practice of key hygiene behaviours, a reduction in musculo-skeletal impacts associated with carrying water from outside the home, and improved water quality. This suggests a logical policy shift towards the promotion of reliable household access as the international benchmark for water supply