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Child hand contamination is associated with subsequent pediatric diarrhea in rural Democratic Republic of the Congo (REDUCE Program)

George, C. M. and Cirhuza, L. B. and Birindwa, A. and Williams, C. and Beck, S. and Julian, T. and Kuhl, J. and Coglianese, N. and Thomas, E. and Bauler, S. and Francois, R. and Saxton, R. and Presence, A. S. and Rusanga, J. C. B. and Perin, J. and Mirindi, P.. (2021) Child hand contamination is associated with subsequent pediatric diarrhea in rural Democratic Republic of the Congo (REDUCE Program). Tropical medicine and international health, 26 (1). pp. 102-110.

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Official URL: https://edoc.unibas.ch/89004/

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The Reducing Enteropathy, Undernutrition, and Contamination in the Environment (REDUCE) program focuses on identifying exposure pathways to faecal pathogens for young children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and on developing scalable interventions to reduce faecal contamination from these pathways. METHODS: A prospective cohort study of 690 participants was conducted to investigate the association between hand, food, and environmental faecal contamination and diarrhoeal disease prevalence among young children in Walungu Territory, South Kivu, DRC. A total of 1923 hand rinse, soil, food, object, surface, stored water and water source samples were collected during unannounced spot checks after baseline enrolment and analysed for Escherichia coli. Caregiver reports of diarrhoea were obtained from children < 5 years at a 6-month follow-up. RESULTS: E.coli was detected in 73% of child and caregiver hand-rinse samples, 69% of soil samples from child play spaces, 54% of child food samples, 38% of objects and surfaces children were observed putting in their mouths, 74% of stored water samples, and 40% of source water samples. Children < 5 years with E. coli on their hands had significantly higher odds of diarrhoea at the 6-month follow-up (odds ratio: 2.03 (95% confidence interval: 1.05, 3.92)). CONCLUSION: The cohort study findings from the REDUCE program have shown that child hand contamination is associated with diarrhoeal disease in rural DRC, and that there is high faecal contamination in child plays spaces and food. These findings provide evidence demonstrating the urgent need to provide clean play spaces for young children and interventions targeting hand hygiene to reduce paediatric exposure to faecal pathogens.
Faculties and Departments:09 Associated Institutions > Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH)
09 Associated Institutions > Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) > Department of Epidemiology and Public Health (EPH) > Eco System Health Sciences > Ecosystem Services, Climate & Health (Cissé)
UniBasel Contributors:Julian, Timothy
Item Type:Article, refereed
Article Subtype:Research Article
ISSN:1360-2276
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Journal article
Identification Number:
Last Modified:19 Dec 2022 14:44
Deposited On:19 Dec 2022 14:44

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