Simple Sari Cloth Filtration of Water Is Sustainable and Continues To Protect Villagers from Cholera in Matlab, Bangladesh

ABSTRACT

A simple method for filtering water to reduce the incidence of cholera was tested in a field trial in Matlab, Bangladesh, and proved effective. A follow-up study was conducted 5 years later to determine whether the filtration method continued to be employed by villagers and its impact on the incidence of cholera. A total of 7,233 village women collecting water daily for their households in Bangladesh were selected from the same study population of the original field trial for interviewing. Analysis of the data showed that 31% of the women used a filter of which 60% used sari filters for household water. Results showed that sari filtration not only was accepted and sustained by the villagers and benefited them, including their neighbors not filtering water, in reducing the incidence of cholera, the latter being an unexpected benefit.

IMPORTANCE

A simple method for filtering pond and river water to reduce the incidence of cholera, field tested in Matlab, Bangladesh, proved effective in reducing the incidence of cholera by 48%. A follow-up study conducted 5 years later showed that 31% of the village women continued to filter water for their households, with both an expected and an unexpected benefit that filtration had both a direct and indirect effect in reducing cholera (chi-square statistic of 1,591.94; P = <0.0001). Results of the study showed that the practice of filtration not only was accepted and sustained by the villagers but also benefited those who filtered their water as well as neighbors not filtering water for household use in reducing the incidence of cholera.