Glen’s take · Why we chose this story
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Primary source pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Open the original on pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govIn short the story, from pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Dr. Rita Colwell's team showed that an everyday household item, old sari cloth folded four to eight times, could filter pond and river water well enough to reduce cholera. In a field trial in Matlab, Bangladesh, from September 1999 to July 2002, in 65 villages with a total population of about 133,000, the team reported a 48% reduction in cholera in the sari-filter villages compared with villages that did not filter (Colwell et al., PNAS, 2003). Source · pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
The authors note the study years were relatively low in cholera incidence.
The method rests on Colwell's earlier observation, from the 1960s, that the cholera bacterium can survive by attaching to zooplankton (Stockholm Water Foundation). Folded sari cloth forms a mesh of about 20 micrometres, fine enough to remove zooplankton and the bacteria attached to them (PNAS, 2003). A follow-up five years later interviewed 7,233 village women: 31% used a filter, and 60% of those used sari filters. The authors report the practice was accepted and sustained, and that neighbours who did not filter also benefited (Huq et al., mBio, 2010). Source · pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Colwell received the 2010 Stockholm Water Prize for her research on preventing waterborne infectious diseases. She was the first woman to serve as director of the U.S. National Science Foundation (1998 to 2004), according to NSF, and is a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland. Source · pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
The read Glen’s take, in his words
In the villages of Matlab, Bangladesh, many families drew their household water from ponds and rivers. Boiling it was the safer choice. But firewood was scarce and costly, and in a severe flood, building a fire can be impossible.
Dr. Rita Colwell had spent her career studying cholera. In the 1960s, she observed that the cholera bacterium could survive by attaching to zooplankton. That meant rivers, lakes and oceans could hold it even when there was no outbreak. She would later become the first woman to lead the U.S. National Science Foundation.
So her team asked a practical question. If the bacteria ride on plankton, what happens if you strain the plankton out?
The answer was already in the house. Village families often used a piece of old sari cloth to filter drinks. Her team found that sari cloth folded four to eight times makes a filter fine enough to catch the plankton, and the cholera bacteria clinging to it. The women who collected the water were trained to place the folded cloth over the mouth of the water pot.
Working with Dr. Anwar Huq and colleagues at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, they tested it in sixty-five villages, from 1999 to 2002. The paper reports that villages using sari filters had forty-eight percent less cholera than villages that didn't filter. Five years later, a follow-up study found families still using the method, and neighbors who didn't filter benefited too. Source · pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
What I love is where the answer came from. Not a machine shipped in. A cloth every family already owned, and a habit they already had, made stronger by careful science. The researchers called sari cloth inexpensive, effective and readily available to all villagers.
In 2010, Dr. Colwell received the Stockholm Water Prize for her work to prevent waterborne disease. Source · pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
This is why we're making space for Dr. Rita Colwell in the I Drink Living Water Research Library.
Questions answered from this page
What is this story about?
Dr. Rita Colwell's team showed that an everyday household item, old sari cloth folded four to eight times, could filter pond and river water well enough to reduce cholera. In a field trial in Matlab, Bangladesh, from September 1999 to July 2002, in 65 villages with a total population of about 133,000, the team reported a 48% reduction in cholera in the sari-filter villages compared with villages that did not filter (Colwell et al., PNAS, 2003).
Why did Glen Kerby choose this story?
I chose Dr. Colwell's work because the answer was already in the house. Nobody shipped in a machine.
Where can I read the original?
It was published by pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov as “Reduction of cholera in Bangladeshi villages by simple filtration”, at https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC298724/.
Go to the source their work, in full
“Reduction of cholera in Bangladeshi villages by simple filtration”
Published by pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Read it where it was reported.
