Microbiological effectiveness of locally produced ceramic filters for drinking water treatment in Cambodia

摘要

Low-cost options for the treatment of drinking water at the household level are being explored bynthe Cambodian government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in Cambodia,nwhere many lack access to improved drinking water sources and diarrhoeal diseases are thenmost prevalent cause of death in children under 5 years of age. The ceramic water purifier (CWP),na locally produced, low-cost ceramic filter, is now being implemented by several NGOs, and annestimated 100,000 + households in the country now use them for drinking water treatment. Twoncandidate filters were tested for the reduction of bacterial and viral surrogates for waterbornenpathogens using representative Cambodian drinking water sources (rainwater and surface water)nspiked with Escherichia coli and bacteriophage MS2. Results indicate that filters were capable ofnreducing key microbes in the laboratory with mean reductions of E. coli of approximately 99%nand mean reduction of bacteriophages of 90–99% over .600 litres throughput. Increasedneffectiveness was not observed in filters with an AgNO3 amendment. At under US$10 per filter,nlocally produced ceramic filters may be a promising option for drinking water treatment and safenstorage at the household level.