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Where
has the Safe Water System been used?
 Guatemala
Project
Partners
- CDC
- Universidad
de Valle, Guatemala City, Guatemala
- Instituto
Nutricional de Centroamerica y Panama, Guatemala City, Guatemala
- The
Procter and Gamble Company
Target
Populations/Location - Food vendors
in municipal marketplaces in Guatemala City
Project
Design - Research
project to determine whether use of the SWS would improve the quality of beverages
prepared by street vendors
Intervention
Elements - CDC
safe water storage vessel
- Locally
available commercial bleach
- Antibacterial
soap
- Health
education
Project
Implementation Date Results
of Project Evaluations - Street-vended
foods and beverages, an integral part of urban economics in the developing world,
have been implicated in cholera transmission in Latin America. To improve the
microbiologic quality of market-vended beverages in Guatemala, we tested a simple
system consisting of dilute bleach (4.95% free available chlorine) for water purification,
narrow-mouth plastic vessels with spigots for disinfecting and storing water and
for preparing and storing beverages, handwashing soap, and education in using
the system. We conducted a randomized controlled intervention trial among 41 vendors
who received the intervention and 42 control vendors,
comparing total and fecal coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli contamination
of market-vended beverages, stored water, and vendors' hands. Samples were obtained
at baseline and at each of six weekly follow-up visits. At baseline, fecal coliform
bacteria were found in 40 (48%) market-vended beverages and E. coli in
14 (17%). When compared with samples from control vendors, a significant decrease
in total coliform (P<0.001) and fecal coliform (P<0.001) bacteria in samples of
stored water and beverages sold by intervention vendors was observed over the
course of the study. The vessel system was well accepted by vendors.
For
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