April 15, 2008
Many YK Delta villages still have honeybuckets and dumpsters like this one. YKHC file photo.
Study links respiratory disease with inadequate water service
By Joaqlin Estus, ANTHC Communications Director. Released April 2, 2008
A study of modern water services and hospitalization yielded surprising results: A lack of running water in the home is linked to severe respiratory infections among Alaska Natives.
These findings are a first, to the authors' knowledge. Health professionals have thought the benefits of clean water were primarily gastro-intestinal. This study shows that lung and skin infections among Alaska Natives are also associated with inadequate water service.
"For decades, there hasn't been enough money from federal and state sources to address the problem of clean water and sanitation," said Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium Chairman and President Don Kashevaroff. "It's time to build the systems needed throughout rural Alaska."
"The study highlights the need for sanitation infrastructure in rural Alaska, where about one third of the homes lack modern sanitation facilities," said Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium Chief Executive Officer Paul Sherry. "It confirms that flush toilets and piped water lead to improved health status."
The study's findings are important because of the seriousness and rates of respiratory illness among Alaska Native infants and children. About 75 percent of all hospitalizations for Alaska Native and American Indian children are due to respiratory problems. The findings may have international significance as well because acute respiratory infections are the second leading cause of child deaths worldwide where many communities lack adequate sanitation facilities.
The study highlights the need for sanitation infrastructure in rural Alaska, where about one third of the homes lack modern sanitation facilities. This study, the first of its kind conducted in Alaska, confirms that flush toilets and piped water lead to improved health status.
The prestigious American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) is featuring an article about the study in its April issue. Publication in AJPH highlights the significance of the findings, and shows that peers have determined the study meets rigorous scientific standards. The article was the product of a two-year collaboration between the CDC Arctic Investigations Program (CDC-AIP), the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC), and the Indian Health Service. Dr. Tom Hennessy, CDC-AIP Director, and Troy Ritter, ANTHC Environmental Health Consultant, originated the study.
They investigated whether availability of in-home water and flush toilets is associated with lower hospitalizations for sanitation-related disease. Investigators compared levels of in-home water service to hospitalization rates for acute respiratory infections, skin infections, and diarrheal disease. They looked at areas with no, low, or limited in-home water service, and compared them to communities with higher rates of modern water service.
The study's findings are that lower water services lead to:
- Significantly higher hospitalization rates for pneumonia and influenza, skin infection and Respiratory Syncytial Virus
- Significantly higher hospitalization rates ó up to one third of infants hospitalized annually for pneumonia and RSV
- Higher rates of outpatient skin infections and hospitalizations
