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Journal Article Review Ppublish 80 citations

PubMed: 33388470 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2020.116793

COVID-19 pandemic: Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) as a critical control measure remains a major challenge in low-income countries.

Water Res 191:116793

Authors: Oscar Omondi Donde, Evans Atoni, Anastasia Wairimu Muia, Paul T Yillia

Affiliations

  • Department of Environmental Science, Egerton University, P.O. Box 536, Egerton Kenya.
  • Key Laboratory of Special Pathogens and Biosafety, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, Hubei, China.
  • Department of Biological Science, Egerton University, P.O. Box 536, Egerton Kenya.
  • International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Schlossplatz 1 - A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria.

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the deadly respiratory disease called coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19), an ongoing global public health emergency that has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. We review literature on the transmission and control of SARS-CoV-2 and discuss the challenges of focusing on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) as critical control measures in low-income countries. A significantly higher prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 related deaths has been reported for the United States of America and other high-income countries in Europe and Asia, regardless of advanced medical facilities in those countries. In contrast, much lower COVID-19 related morbidity and mortality rates have been documented in many low-income countries, despite having comparatively higher socioeconomic burdens and suboptimal medical facilities. By September 29, 2020 over one million deaths have been reported. On the same day, the cumulative total of COVID-19 related morbidity for Africa was 35,954 with 3.5% of the global COVID-19 related deaths. We present arguments for the relatively low COVID-19 morbidity and mortality rates in many low-income countries and discuss the critical importance of WASH for preventing the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19. We observe that the key recommendations put forward by the World Health Organization to effectively control the pandemic have been difficult to implement in low-income countries. We conclude that the pandemic reinforces previous pronouncements that adequate and effective WASH measures are crucial for public health and recommend closer coordination between public health and WASH sectors.

MeSH

Infections, Sanitation, Morbidity, Mortality, Income, Public Health, Water Pollution, Hygiene, Coronavirus, Pandemics, Covid-19, Sars-Cov-2

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