Water Treatment

The December 2004 tsunami in Sumatra, Indonesia, destroyed drinking water infrastructure, placing over 500,000 displaced persons at increased risk of waterborne disease.

On May 2, 2009 an outbreak of typhoid fever began in rural villages along the Malawi-Mozambique border resulting in 748 illnesses and 44 deaths by September 2010.

A simple method for filtering water to reduce the incidence of cholera was tested in a field trial in Matlab, Bangladesh, and proved effective.

Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions are amongst the most crucial in humanitarian crises, although the impact of the different WASH interventions on health outcomes remains unclear.

Locally manufactured sodium hypochlorite (chlorine) solution has been sold in Zimbabwe since 2010. During October 1, 2011–April 30, 2012, 4,181 suspected and 52 confirmed cases of typhoid fever were identified in Harare. In response to this outbreak, chlorine tablets were distributed.

Background. In response to recurrent cholera outbreaks in Nyanza Province, Kenya, a local nongovernmental organization assisted the Ministry of Health by providing cholera education activities to some cholera-affected communities.

This evidence synthesis identifies, synthesizes and evaluates existing evidence of the impacts of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions in disease outbreaks in 51 humanitarian contexts in 19 low and middle-income countries.

In September 2016, Médecins Sans Frontières responded to a hepatitis E (HEV) outbreak in Chad by implementing water treatment and hygiene interventions. To evaluate the coverage and use of these interventions, we conducted a cross-sectional study in the community.

Communicable diseases are of particular concern in conflict and disaster-affected populations that reside in camp settings. In the acute emergency phase, diarrhoeal diseases have accounted for more than 40% of deaths among camp residents.

Children under 18 can represent 50% or more of a crisis-affected population.