Cornelius Cano Ssemakalu

By Cornelius Cano Ssemakalu

Salmonella outbreaks remain a significant problem in many resource-poor communities globally, especially in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). These communities cannot reliably access treated piped water, thus reverting to the use of environmental water for domestic and agricultural purposes. In most LMICs, the maintenance and expansion of the existing wastewater and water treatment infrastructure to meet the growing population are not considered. This results in regular wastewater and water treatment failures causing an increase in an assortment of waterborne pathogens, including Salmonella. Solving these problems would require the maintenance, expansion and construction of new wastewater and water treatment infrastructure. The implementation of such interventions would only occur over a long period. Unfortunately, time is not a luxury in communities experiencing the effects of such problems. However, highly disruptive household interventions such as solar disinfection (SODIS) could be implemented in communities experiencing endemic Salmonella outbreaks. SODIS has been shown to inactivate a variety of water-related pathogens. SODIS requires significantly less financial input to implement in comparison to other household-level interventions. Various studies have shown better health outcomes due to SODIS in communities that previously struggled with waterborne diseases, including Salmonella. The aim of this chapter is to share a perspective on the continued reliance on SODIS as for the control waterborne Salmonella in LMICs.

Part of the book: Salmonella