Sanitation Updates

Leptospirosis, a life-threatening zoonotic disease, has become an important urban slum health problem. Epidemics of leptospirosis now occur in cities throughout the developing world, as the growth of slum settlements has produced conditions for rat-borne transmission of this disease. In this prevalence survey of more than 3,000 residents from a favela slum community in Brazil, Geographical Information System (GIS) and modeling approaches identified specific deficiencies in the sanitation infrastructure of slum environments-open sewers, refuse, and inadequate floodwater drainage-that serve as sources for Leptospira transmission. In addition to the environmental attributes of the slum environment, low socioeconomic status was found to independently contribute to the risk of infection. These findings indicate that effective prevention of leptospirosis will need to address the social factors that produce unequal health outcomes among slum residents, in addition to improving sanitation.

Citation: Reis RB, Ribeiro GS, Felzemburgh RDM, Santana FS, Mohr S, et al. (200 Impact of Environment and Social Gradient on Leptospira Infection in Urban Slums. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2(4): e228. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0000228

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NEW LATIN AMERICAN CINEMA: Basic Sanitation, the Movie (Saneamento basico, o filme), JORGE FURTADO, Brazil, 2008, 112 minutes, Color

“In order to stem “the smell of poop” in the river that runs through the Italian immigrant village of Crystal Line in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul, Marina Marghera Figueiredo applies for government money to build a new sewer. Unfortunately, there are no funds allocated for sanitation, but there is a sizeable grant available to make a 10-minute fiction video. After much bickering with affable husband Joaquim and dad Otaviano, they decide to write and produce “The Sewer Monster” as a way to get the money to clean the river. (.. .) -Eddie Cockrell-”

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A paper reporting on two cohort studies which looked at the effect of a city-wide sanitation programme on rates of childhood diarrhoea in northeast Brazil has been shortlisted for the Lancet Paper of the Year Award 2007.

The paper, from a team including DCVBU’s Professor Sandy Cairncross and colleagues from the Federal University of Bahia in Brazil, reveals how diarrhoea prevalence in children under 3 in the areas studied fell by more than a fifth following a drive to improve sewerage coverage from 26% of households to 80%. The findings show how important urban sanitation is as a health measure and provide timely support for the launch of the 2008 International Year of Sanitation.

The paper was highlighted in Science magazine on 8 February, and the team who produced it were personally congratulated by the Brazilian Minister of Health, Jose Gomes Temporao.

The Lancet award will go to the paper that, in the view of the International Advisory Board, has made the greatest potential contribution to clinical research in the past year.

Medical Research News - Feb 18, 2007

Jan 4, 2008 - Some 7.1bn reais (US$4bn) were contracted in sanitation works funded by Brazil’s federal government last year, of which 2bn reais have already been disbursed, local paper Valor Econômico reported.

Link to the Business News Americas article