Skip to main content
PMC home page
Epidemiology and Infection logoLink to Epidemiology and Infection
. 1990 Feb;104(1):79–85. doi: 10.1017/s0950268800054558

Bacterial contamination of weaning foods and drinking water in rural Bangladesh.

F J Henry 1, Y Patwary 1, S R Huttly 1, K M Aziz 1
PMCID: PMC2271730  PMID: 2307187

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine what weaning foods and food preparation practices expose children to a high risk of diarrhoeal disease through exposure to a contaminated diet. Bacterial contamination of 897 food and 896 drinking water samples was assessed in a water and sanitation intervention project. The geometric mean of faecal coliforms per g or ml was 7.5 x 10(3) in left-over rice. 1.4 x 10(2) in other types of boiled rice, 2.5 x 10(2) in milk, 4.8 in household drinking water, and 3.5 in bread. Multiplication of faecal coliforms occurred when there was a delay of more than 4 h between preparation and consumption of food. All samples were more contaminated in the rainy than in the dry season. Strategies to reduce contamination should therefore focus on 'wet' foods, early consumption after preparation, and re-heating of left-over foods. Understanding the reasons for the faulty practices is also essential to the formulation of effective measures.

Full text

PDF
83

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Barrell R. A., Rowland M. G. Infant foods as a potential source of diarrhoeal illness in rural West Africa. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1979;73(1):85–90. doi: 10.1016/0035-9203(79)90136-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Black R. E., Brown K. H., Becker S., Alim A. R., Merson M. H. Contamination of weaning foods and transmission of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli diarrhoea in children in rural Bangladesh. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1982;76(2):259–264. doi: 10.1016/0035-9203(82)90292-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Briend A., Wojtyniak B., Rowland M. G. Breast feeding, nutritional state, and child survival in rural Bangladesh. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1988 Mar 26;296(6626):879–882. doi: 10.1136/bmj.296.6626.879. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Capparelli E., Mata L. Microflora of maize prepared as tortillas. Appl Microbiol. 1975 Jun;29(6):802–806. doi: 10.1128/am.29.6.802-806.1975. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Feachem R. G., Koblinsky M. A. Interventions for the control of diarrhoeal diseases among young children: promotion of breast-feeding. Bull World Health Organ. 1984;62(2):271–291. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. GORDON J. E., CHITKARA I. D., WYON J. B. Weanling diarrhea. Am J Med Sci. 1963 Mar;245:345–377. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Gilman R. H., Skillicorn P. Boiling of drinking-water: can a fuel-scarce community afford it? Bull World Health Organ. 1985;63(1):157–163. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Jason J. M., Nieburg P., Marks J. S. Mortality and infectious disease associated with infant-feeding practices in developing countries. Pediatrics. 1984 Oct;74(4 Pt 2):702–727. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. King K. W., Fougere W., Webb R. E., Berggren G., Berggren W. L., Hilaire A. Preventive and therapeutic benefits in relation to cost: performance over 10 years of Mothercraft Centers in Haiti. Am J Clin Nutr. 1978 Apr;31(4):679–690. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/31.4.679. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kolvin J. L., Roberts D. Studies on the growth of Vibrio cholerae biotype eltor and biotype classical in foods. J Hyg (Lond) 1982 Oct;89(2):243–252. doi: 10.1017/s0022172400070777. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Lindskog R. U., Lindskog P. A. Bacteriological contamination of water in rural areas: an intervention study from Malawi. J Trop Med Hyg. 1988 Feb;91(1):1–7. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Plank S. J., Milanesi M. L. Infant feeding and infant mortality in rural Chile. Bull World Health Organ. 1973;48(2):203–210. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Rowland M. G., Barrell R. A., Whitehead R. G. Bacterial contamination in traditional Gambian weaning foods. Lancet. 1978 Jan 21;1(8056):136–138. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(78)90432-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. van Steenbergen W. M., Mossel D. A., Kusin J. A., Jansen A. A. Machakos project studies agents affecting health of mother and child in a rural area of Kenya. XXIII bacterial contamination of foods commonly eaten by young children in Machakos, Kenya. Trop Geogr Med. 1983 Jun;35(2):193–197. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Epidemiology and Infection are provided here courtesy of Cambridge University Press

RESOURCES