TY - JOUR
T1 - Water quality, availability, and acute gastroenteritis on the Navajo Nation - A pilot case-control study
AU - Grytdal, Scott P.
AU - Weatherholtz, Robert
AU - Esposito, Douglas H.
AU - Campbell, James
AU - Reid, Raymond
AU - Gregoricus, Nicole
AU - Schneeberger, Chandra
AU - Lusk, Tina S.
AU - Xiao, Lihua
AU - Garrett, Nancy
AU - Bopp, Cheryl
AU - Hammitt, Laura L.
AU - Vinjé, Jan
AU - Hill, Vincent R.
AU - O'Brien, Katherine L.
AU - Hall, Aron J.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© IWA Publishing 2018.
PY - 2018/12
Y1 - 2018/12
N2 - The Navajo Nation includes approximately 250,000 American Indians living in a remote high desert environment with limited access to public water systems. We conducted a pilot case-control study to assess associations between acute gastroenteritis (AGE) and water availability, use patterns, and quality. Case patients with AGE and non-AGE controls who presented for care to two Indian Health Service hospitals were recruited. Data on demographics and water use practices were collected using a standard questionnaire. Household drinking water was tested for presence of pathogens, coliforms, and residual chlorine. Sixty-one subjects (32 cases and 29 controls) participated in the study. Cases and controls were not significantly different with respect to water sources, quality, or patterns of use. Twenty-one percent (n = 12) of study participants resided in dwellings not connected to a community water system. Eleven percent (n = 7) of subjects reported drinking hauled water from unregulated sources. Coliform bacteria were present in 44% (n = 27) of household water samples, and 68% (n = 40) of samples contained residual chlorine concentrations of <0.2 mg/L. This study highlights issues with water availability, quality, and use patterns within the Navajo Nation, including sub-optimal access to community water systems, and use of water hauled from unregulated sources.
AB - The Navajo Nation includes approximately 250,000 American Indians living in a remote high desert environment with limited access to public water systems. We conducted a pilot case-control study to assess associations between acute gastroenteritis (AGE) and water availability, use patterns, and quality. Case patients with AGE and non-AGE controls who presented for care to two Indian Health Service hospitals were recruited. Data on demographics and water use practices were collected using a standard questionnaire. Household drinking water was tested for presence of pathogens, coliforms, and residual chlorine. Sixty-one subjects (32 cases and 29 controls) participated in the study. Cases and controls were not significantly different with respect to water sources, quality, or patterns of use. Twenty-one percent (n = 12) of study participants resided in dwellings not connected to a community water system. Eleven percent (n = 7) of subjects reported drinking hauled water from unregulated sources. Coliform bacteria were present in 44% (n = 27) of household water samples, and 68% (n = 40) of samples contained residual chlorine concentrations of <0.2 mg/L. This study highlights issues with water availability, quality, and use patterns within the Navajo Nation, including sub-optimal access to community water systems, and use of water hauled from unregulated sources.
KW - Acute gastroenteritis
KW - Coliforms
KW - Hauled water
KW - Navajo Nation
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U2 - 10.2166/wh.2018.007
DO - 10.2166/wh.2018.007
M3 - Article
C2 - 30540275
AN - SCOPUS:85058600892
SN - 1477-8920
VL - 16
SP - 1018
EP - 1028
JO - Journal of Water and Health
JF - Journal of Water and Health
IS - 6
ER -