ArticleThe Science of the total environment2011
Impact of population and latrines on fecal contamination of ponds in rural Bangladesh.
Article in The Science of the total environment, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed.
- Examining the effect of neighborhood sanitation coverage on childhood diarrheal disease in rural Bangladesh.International journal of hygiene and environmental health · 2026Trial
- Do Sanitation Improvements Reduce Fecal Contamination of Water, Hands, Food, Soil, and Flies? Evidence from a Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial in Rural Bangladesh.Environmental science & technology · 2018Trial
- Trial
- Seasonal Trends, Environmental Drivers, and Lessons Learned From the 2023 Cholera Outbreak in Chattogram, Bangladesh: A Descriptive Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Rainfall and temperature influence effectiveness of on-site sanitation intervention against E. coli contamination in Bangladeshi households.International journal of hygiene and environmental health · 2026Article
- Water pollution, cholera, and the role of probiotics: a comprehensive review in relation to public health in Bangladesh.Frontiers in microbiology · 2024Review
- Influence of community-level sanitation coverage and population density on environmental fecal contamination and child health in a longitudinal cohort in rural Bangladesh.International journal of hygiene and environmental health · 2022Article
- Opportunities and limits of wastewater-based epidemiology for tracking global health and attainment of UN sustainable development goals.Environment international · 2022Review
- Benefits and Risks of Smallholder Livestock Production on Child Nutrition in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.Frontiers in nutrition · 2021Review
- Human and livestock waste as a reduced carbon source contributing to the release of arsenic to shallow Bangladesh groundwater.The Science of the total environment · 2017Article
- Animal Feces Contribute to Domestic Fecal Contamination: Evidence from E. coli Measured in Water, Hands, Food, Flies, and Soil in Bangladesh.Environmental science & technology · 2017Article
- Can Sanitary Inspection Surveys Predict Risk of Microbiological Contamination of Groundwater Sources? Evidence from Shallow Tubewells in Rural Bangladesh.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2017Article
- Stable Isotopes Reveal Nitrogen Loading to Lake Tanganyika from Remote Shoreline Villages.Environmental management · 2017Article
- Riverbed Sediments as Reservoirs of MultipleJournal of environmental and public health · 2017Article
- Modeling Cryptosporidium and Giardia in Ground and Surface Water Sources in Rural India: Associations with Latrines, Livestock, Damaged Wells, and Rainfall Patterns.Environmental science & technology · 2016Article
- Influence of Climate Extremes and Land Use on Fecal Contamination of Shallow Tubewells in Bangladesh.Environmental science & technology · 2016Article
- Dissolved Organic Matter Quality in a Shallow Aquifer of Bangladesh: Implications for Arsenic Mobility.Environmental science & technology · 2015Article
- Impact of rainfall on diarrheal disease risk associated with unimproved water and sanitation.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2014Article
- Importance of Reversible Attachment in PredictingAdvances in water resources · 2014Article
- Contextualising complementary feeding in a broader framework for stunting prevention.Maternal & child nutrition · 2013Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
14 authors.
Funding
Abstract
A majority of households in Bangladesh rely on pond water for hygiene. Exposure to pond water fecal contamination could therefore still contribute to diarrheal disease despite the installation of numerous tubewells for drinking. The objectives of this study are to determine the predominant sources (human or livestock) of fecal pollution in ponds and examine the association between local population, latrine density, latrine quality and concentrations of fecal bacteria and pathogens in pond water. Forty-three ponds were analyzed for E. coli using culture-based methods and E. coli, Bacteroidales and adenovirus using quantitative PCR. Population and sanitation spatial data were collected and measured against pond fecal contamination. Humans were the dominant source of fecal contamination in 79% of the ponds according to Bacteroidales measurements. Ponds directly receiving latrine effluent had the highest concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria (up to 10⁶ Most Probable Number (MPN) of culturable E. coli per 100 mL). Concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria correlated with population surveyed within a distance of 30-70 m (p<0.05) and total latrines surveyed within 50-70 m (p<0.05). Unsanitary latrines (visible effluent or open pits) within the pond drainage basin were also significantly correlated to fecal indicator concentrations (p<0.05). Water in the vast majority of the surveyed ponds contained unsafe levels of fecal contamination attributable primarily to unsanitary latrines, and to lesser extent, to sanitary latrines and cattle. Since the majority of fecal pollution is derived from human waste, continued use of pond water could help explain the persistence of diarrheal disease in rural South Asia.
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Registered trials
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