| Diarrheal Diseases in Children from a Water Reclamation Site in Mexico City Enrique Cifuentes, Leticia Suárez, Maritsa Solano, and René Santos Centro de Salud Ambiental, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, México Abstract
This study was conducted to assess the risk of enteric diseases among children living in a water reclamation area in Mexico City. A geographic information system was used to define eligible wells and surrounding homesteads. Sixty-five water samples from five wells were tested for fecal coliform bacteria per 100 mL (FC/100 mL) during visits to 750 eligible households ; caretakers only in those dwellings with children under 5 years old were interviewed throughout repeated cross-sectional surveys, conducted during 1999-2000. Data on diarrheal diseases were obtained from 761 children during the rainy season and 732 children during the dry season ; their guardians also provided information on drinking water supply, sanitation, and socioeconomic variables. The presence of indicator organisms in groundwater samples pointed to fecal pollution ; bacterial indicators, however, did not predict the health risk. The rates of diarrhea were 10.7% in the dry season and 11.8% in the rainy season. Children 1 year old showed the highest rate of diarrhea during the dry season [odds ratio (OR) = 2.1 with 95% confidence interval (CI) , 0.99-4.71], particularly those from households perceiving unpleasant taste of tap water (OR, 1.7 ; 95% CI, 0.97-2.92) and consuming vegetables washed only with water (OR, 2.2 ; 95% CI, 1.10-4.39) . Lower risk was observed in individuals enjoying full-day water supply (OR, 0.5 ; 95% CI, 0.27-0.86) and a flushing toilet (OR, 0.3 ; 95% CI, 0.16-0.67) , as well as those storing water in covered receptacles (OR, 0.3 ; 95% CI, 0.15-0.80) . Rainy season data suggested that children from households perceiving a color to their water had a higher rate of diarrhea than did those without such complaint (OR, 1.8 ; 95% CI, 0.93-3.67) ; recent consumption of food sold by street vendors was also a significant risk factor (OR, 1.6 ; 95% CI, 0.98-2.87) . Groundwater is at risk of contamination, as indicated by the presence of FC/100 mL. The endemic pattern of diarrhea, however, reflects mostly inadequate housing, sanitation, and water-related practices. Health protection policy must be discussed. Key words: children's health, environmental risk, water quality indicators. Environ Health Perspect 110:A619-A624 (2002) . [Online 16 September 2002] http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2002/110pA619-A624cifuentes/ abstract.html Address correspondence to E. Cifuentes, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, CISP, Centro de Salud Ambiental, Av. Universidad 655, Sta. María Ahuacatitlán, Cuernavaca, CP 62508 México. Telephone: (77) 73 29 30 60. Fax: (77) 73 11 01 11. E-mail: ecifuent@correo.insp.mx The final manuscript was revised by C. Carvalho and M. Tellez. Special thanks to the DGCOH staff for the logistical support and willingness to participate. Funds were received from CONSERVA Program (GDF) and CONACyT, Mexico. Received 3 October 2001 ; accepted 20 March 2002.
The full version of this article is available for free in HTML or PDF formats. |
