Access to basic water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities and associated factors in Ethiopia: evidence from demographics and health surveys

In low- and middle-income countries, ensuring water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities for households remains a major public health concern. Therefore, this study aimed to assess households' access to WASH services and associated factors in Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 16,650 and 8,663 households in the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic Health Survey (EDHS) and 2019 Mini-EDHS, respectively. The households were selected using a stratified two-stage cluster sampling technique. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with basic WASH services. Households' access to basic water services was 65.2% (95% CI: 64.5–65.9%) and 68.7% (95% CI: 68.01–69.4%) in the 2016 EDHS and 2019 Mini-EDHS, respectively. Only 25.9% (95% CI: 25.2–26.62%) in the 2016 EDHS and 27.5% (95% CI: 26.34–28.3%) in the 2019 Mini-EDHS households had access to basic sanitation services. Moreover, only 38% (95% CI: 37.25–38.8%) of households had access to basic hygiene services in the 2016 EDHS. Female-headed households, urban residents, having education, family members ≥7, presence of soaps or detergents, and having a better wealth index were the most likely to have access to basic WASH services. The findings in general suggest the need for effective WASH interventions.

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Some Detergents and Disinfectants Against Staphylococcus Aureus Isolated from Kirkuk Schools

The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of some detergents and disinfectants against Staphyloccocus aureus, As (60) swabs were collected for a period of one month, and from various school environmental sources, which included the hands of students during their academic performance of their duties and age groups (13-19) years and after they underwent a corona virus examination and from health units for the school environment and student desks in the city of Kirkuk, The efficiency of the detergents and detergents used for hand washing and health institutions available in the local market was evaluated, which included: liquid soap (Fax), Bleach 6%, Flash, Dettol (EIFFEL), Hand santizer gel, Hand sanitizer spray.The results of the study showed that the detergents and disinfectants under study have inhibitory efficacy against Staphylococcus aureus according to the prepared concentrations (50,25,12.5)%,Flash and Hand sanitizer spray are among the most effective disinfectants and detergents, followed by Bleach, then Dettol and liquid soap, and Hand santizer gel was less effective against bacteria. © 2022 American Institute of Physics Inc.. All rights reserved.

Indirect Effects of Covid-19 on Water Quality

The provision of safe water and functioning waste management play key roles in preventing and combatting disease outbreaks such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Good water quality is needed for effective hygiene measures like washing hands as well as for lowering pathogen transmission. Almost all over the world, especially in developing countries, water is vulnerable and at high risk and surging insecurity with time. Effective water management, sanitation, and hygiene help to protect lives during the global COVID-19 pandemic. While sanitation and hygiene also disturb the quality and increase water consumption per capita to 40% comparatively and wastewater production in many developing countries. This rapid increase in water consumption puts direct pressure on water reservoirs and inadequate management of wastewater is also a serious threat to waterways, nowadays. Similarly, the quality of water bodies is significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the risk of transmission of COVID-19 through sewerage systems is recorded as low. Hence, the current review paper is planned to highlight the main concerns directly linked with the frequent usage of detergents/soaps and alcohol-based hand sanitizers on water quality and the post-pandemic handwashing habits to overcome the COVID-19 spread also threatening the water reserve by high consumption along with more wastewater production with less water reuse efficiency and collectively the pressure on drinking water facilities. This review also focuses on the indirect influence of COVID-19 on water quality through technical interventions among COVID-19, water pollution;soaps/detergents, and hand sanitizer and the complete water management plan for water security and safety from policymakers to end users after the viral revolution briefly.

Design and Development of Multifunctional Autonomous Mobile Disinfection Robot against SARS-CoV-2 Virus

Since 2019, coronavirus has impacted all aspects of humans and become one of the most serious pandemics in history. To prevent the spread of virus transmission in public, cleaning and disinfection with the support of technology are effective ways worldwide. The paper focuses on the design and development of a multifunctional autonomous mobile disinfection robot, namely MEM-Bot. The MEM-Bot integrates robust and well-developed technologies such as remote control, auto-navigation in a mobile platform with a biology/chemical solution to sanitization and disinfection effectively. The MEM-Bot consists of 8 UCV lamps with 240 W radiation with no restriction emitting area, a 360o spinning detergent system, a pair of retractable arms equipped with mist nozzles to cover the lower area of spraying, and a floor-cleaning module. The overall disinfection zone is cylindrical with a radius of 1 meter and a height of 3 meters. Fabricated at a much lower cost than commercialized robots, MEM-Bot has been rapidly deployed and tested at the Phenikaa University campus zone for months. The MEM-Bot is a potential solution for developing countries against the COVID-19 © 2022 Int. J. Mech. Eng. Rob. Res

Vaccine History: From Smallpox to Covid-19

In the early seventeenth century, smallpox was one of the most fearsome communicable diseases in the world. Lady Mary Montagu noted that the disease could be prevented by introducing liquid extracted from smallpox scabs from an infected patient into the skin of healthy individuals. This process, known as “variolation” was used in England and in USA until the first investigations by the English physician Edward Jenner appeared. Jenner created the vaccine for an animal poxvirus from the pustule formed by the vaccinia virus in the teats of cows, where the technique was essentially based on the idea that a virulent agent for animals could be attenuated in humans. In 1885, Louis Pasteur, through a fixed virus which was obtained by successive passages in the nervous tissue of rabbits with the dissecting action of potassium hydroxide, developed the vaccine against rabies, in which similar procedures were adopted in the development of several vaccines of live attenuated viruses. Already in the 1940s, a revolution occurred with the discovery that cells could be cultured in vitro and used as substrates for viral growth. Oral polio vaccine and vaccines against measles, rubella, mumps and chickenpox were made possible by selecting clones by passage in in vitro cell culture. Some RNA virus have segmented genomes that can be manipulated. Co-cultivation of two virus in cell culture with clone selection by plaque formation allows the isolation of virus with segments from both. This regrouping planned to create three main vaccines: live and inactivated influenza as well as one of two rotavirus vaccines. Another discovery in the late nineteenth century was that immunogenicity could be maintained as the substance contained in those killed by heat or chemical treatment. This type of inactivation was first applied to pathogens of typhoid fever, plague and cholera bacilli. In the twentieth century, chemical inactivation was also applied to a virus. The influenza vaccine was the first successful inactivated virus vaccine, developed against Polio and Hepatitis A. Besides, several vaccines consist of partially or fully purified proteins. Most of the inactivated flu vaccines used are created by growing the virus in embryonated eggs and then breaking down the entire virus with detergents. The viral hemagglutinin protein is purified to serve as the vaccine antigen, although other influenza virus components may be part of the final product. Early in the history of bacteriology, morphological studies and chemical analyzes showed that many pathogens were surrounded by a polysaccharide capsule and that antibodies against the capsule could promote phagocytosis. The first use of this information to create a vaccine was the development of the meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine. After years of study and development in bacterology, the scientific community faced the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, marked by the race against time in the invention of effective vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. After all, most of vaccines take more than a decade to be formulated and, in the case of the vaccine against the new coronavirus, in less than a year, at least 34 candidate vaccines appeared in clinical analysis. New vaccine production techniques using DNA and RNA recombination techniques are being implemented in this race. In Brazil, the most widely distributed vaccines approved by Anvisa are AstraZeneca, CoronaVac and Pfizer-BioNTech. The AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine is composed of a non-replicating viral vector, which consists of a defective chipamzee virus (adenovirus), with a segment of the SARS-CoV-2 genome, responsible for producing the structure present on the viral surface (protein S), being recognized by human cells, triggering an immune response against Coronavirus. The CoronaVac vaccine is composed by the inactivated SARS-CoV-2 virus, along with its complete structure. It is unable to multiply, although it can stimulate the response to produce antibodies. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, on the other hand, consists of a formulated lipid nanoparticle of nucleoside-modified mRNA that encodes the pre-fusion peak glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2. Despite the small amount of dose applications in Brazil, the Janssen vaccine has recently started its distribution in the country. This is the only vaccine, so far, with a single dose application. It is an adenovirus 26 (Ad26) vector vaccine that contains in its interior genetic material of the S protein contained in the surface spikes of SARS-CoV-2, and that stimulates, after application, the cellular responses of T CD4 + and T CD8 + antibodies. Here, we propose a detailed review of the entire history of vaccination, from Smallpox to Covid-19. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Identification and quantification of bioactive compounds suppressing SARS-CoV-2 signals in wastewater-based epidemiology surveillance.

Recent SARS-CoV-2 wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) surveillance have documented a positive correlation between the number of COVID-19 patients in a sewershed and the level of viral genetic material in the wastewater. Efforts have been made to use the wastewater SARS-CoV-2 viral load to predict the infected population within each sewershed using a multivariable regression approach. However, reported clear and sustained variability in SARS-CoV-2 viral load among treatment facilities receiving industrial wastewater have made clinical prediction challenging. Several classes of molecules released by regional industries and manufacturing facilities, particularly the food processing industry, can significantly suppress the SARS-CoV-2 signals in wastewater by breaking down the lipid-bilayer of the membranes. Therefore, a systematic ranking process in conjugation with metabolomic analysis was developed to identify the wastewater treatment facilities exhibiting SARS-CoV-2 suppression and identify and quantify the chemicals suppressing the SARS-COV-2 signals. By ranking the viral load per diagnosed case among the sewersheds, we successfully identified the wastewater treatment facilities in Missouri, USA that exhibit SARS-CoV-2 suppression (significantly lower than 5 × 1011 gene copies/reported case) and determined their suppression rates. Through both untargeted global chemical profiling and targeted analysis of wastewater samples, 40 compounds were identified as candidates of SARS-CoV-2 signal suppressors. Among these compounds, 14 had higher concentrations in wastewater treatment facilities that exhibited SARS-CoV-2 signal suppression compared to the unsuppressed control facilities. Stepwise regression analyses indicated that 4-nonylphenol, palmitelaidic acid, sodium oleate, and polyethylene glycol dioleate are positively correlated with SARS-CoV-2 signal suppression rates. Suppression activities were further confirmed by incubation studies, and the suppression kinetics for each bioactive compound were determined. According to the results of these experiments, bioactive molecules in wastewater can significantly reduce the stability of SARS-CoV-2 genetic marker signals. Based on the concentrations of these chemical suppressors, a correction factor could be developed to achieve more reliable and unbiased surveillance results for wastewater treatment facilities that receive wastewater from similar industries.

Post corona water crisis management

This article talks about future water crisis management after the COVID-19 pandemic. Scenarios such as water use wastage due to hand washing and eutrophication with soap and detergent and water spray as sanitary measures in cities and metros were highlighted as examples and part of the crisis. More than this, climate change in tandem with hydrologic variability were viewed to have a profound impact on the water sector as well. Finally, the article predicts that in 2025, water shortages will be more prevalent due to rising demand and conflict, and how governments will find solutions to such issues moving forward.

Application of surfactants for better tomorrow

Surfactants are the important class of amphiphilic species, which consists of both hydrophilic as well as hydrophobic part. They are characterized by some important properties like critical micelle concentration (CMC), charge, hydrophile-lypophile balance (HLB), aggregation, and chemical structure, which make them good emulsifying, dispersing and foaming agents. Presently, the global demand of the surfactants is on the peak due to their increased applications in detergents, paints, food emulsion, biotechnological processes, biosciences, pharmaceuticals, cosmetic products, etc. In order to prevent Corona pandemic disease, WHO and other regulatory authorities have recommended frequent use of soaps and sanitizers that makes surfactants an important class of species to be explored more in terms of their applications.

National informative system for surveillance of hazardous exposures and poisonings (SIN-SEPI). surveillance of exposures to detergents: an example of collaboration between the national institute of health, Poison Centers and the ministry of health

This report describes the exposures to detergents and related products (e.g., borderline disinfectants) managed by the Poison Control Centres of Bergamo and Foggia in the period 2016-2020. Descriptive analysis was conducted using tables and graphs and the differences between population subgroups were analysed using the X2 test. There is an excess of non-hospital calls (70.4%) compared to the expected value, probably influenced by the lockdown 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic. A focus for the year 2020 highlighted an excess of exposures to cleaning products (p < 0.05) and borderline disinfectants (p< 0.001) in the months of lockdown. Another focus on exposures to washing machine detergents in soluble packaging for single use confirms that children (< 6 years) have a higher risk to be exposed to these products (< 6 year: 88.1%) compared to other laundry detergents (< 6 years: 66.4%), (p < 0.001), despite the preventive measures provided by the Regulation (EC) no. 1272/2008.

Effects of skin washing frequency on the epidermal barrier function and inflammatory processes of the epidermis: An experimental study.

BACKGROUND: Increased hand hygiene measures during the COVID-19 pandemic have led to an increased quantum of hand eczema (HE). OBJECTIVES: To examine the effects of varying washing frequencies using current mild cleansing agents-alongside with the effect of a rehydrating cream-on the epidermal barrier function and inflammatory processes of the stratum corneum(SC). METHODS: Standardized skin washings on the volar aspects of the lower arms of skin-healthy volunteers were performed using the automated cleansing device either 5 or 11 times within 4 h for 60 s each with a standard cleanser, a lipid-containing syndet, or a lipid-containing syndet followed by one-time application of a rehydrating cream. Skin bioengineering parameters (transepidermal water loss, SC hydration, erythema, and SC pH) and biochemical/immunological parameters (interleukin-1α, interleukin-1α receptor antagonist and natural moisturizing factor) of SCsamples collected by tape stripping were assessed. RESULTS: All applied washing procedures provided comparable, mild effects on the epidermal barrier function and skin inflammation. CONCLUSION: Occupational skin cleansers seem to have improved regarding skin barrier damaging effects. To further corroborate this, a study design, modified on the basis of our findings, applying longer washing periods for consecutive days seems desirable.

An Overview of Cleaning Agents' Health Hazards and Occupational Injuries and Diseases Attributed to Them in Sweden.

Using data from the Swedish Products Register, hosted by the Swedish Chemicals Agency (KemI), national occupational injury and disease statistics, and call records from the Swedish Poisons Information Centre (PIC) we characterize health hazards of marketed cleaning products and recorded injuries, disease, and incidents linked to cleaning or disinfection agents. The results show that cleaning agents pose many kinds of health hazards, although corrosion and irritation hazards dominate, in particular for the eyes (54% of all included products). Few products were recognized as inhalation hazards. The nature of the health hazards is reflected in the occupational disease and injury statistics and PIC records for eyes and skin but not for the respiratory tract. Among occupational disease cases attributed to cleaning or disinfection agents, 61% concern skin and 26% the respiratory tract. Among occupational injury cases 64% concern chemical burns. However, only a small part (<0.5%) of all reported diseases and injuries were explicitly attributed to cleaning or disinfection agents. On average, there were 11 cases of disease attributed to cleaning or disinfection agents per million workers and year. For occupational injuries the corresponding number was 8. The data concern a broad range of sectors and occupations, but notable sectors were healthcare, accommodation and food service, and manufacturing. Women were more likely to suffer from disease, men and women equally likely to suffer from injury. PIC cases were evenly distributed between men and women, but the clear risk cases more frequently involved men. Occupational diseases increased many-fold in 2020 while injuries decreased, which could be due to COVID-19 changing use patterns of cleaning and disinfection agents at work. We conclude that cleaning agents pose a variety of risks to a large part of the workforce, although particular attention for preventive efforts may need to be directed to the healthcare, accommodation and food service, and manufacturing sectors.

Evaluation of effluent post-treatment by slow filtration and adsorption with activated carbon produced from spent coffee grounds in surfactant removal in sewage treatment

Environmental pollution is a worldwide concern, especially when caused by sewage dumping into water bodies. Many substances are present in industrial or domestic wastewater, causing contamination in superficial water collection. Surfactants stand out for being widely used both industrially and domestically. The use of detergents and many types of surfactants was increased during the Covid-19 pandemic period, a fact observed in the levels in the effluent sample analysis from a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) - Vila City around 21 and 39 mg L-1 in this period. This work evaluated the surfactant concentrations in the primary and secondary treatment units of the Vila City STP, in the city of Paranavaí-PR.-Brazil. In addition, the use of a post-treatment by slow sand filtration and adsorption by activated carbon produced from spent coffee grounds in the complementary removal of surfactants was proposed. A mixed bed with sand and activated carbon columns was made on a pilot scale, and filtration/adsorption runs were performed simulating slow filtration with rates of approximately 15 m3 m-2 day-1. The parameters used for the efficiency removal evaluation in a pilot plant run were: turbidity (NTU) and surfactant concentrations. The removal of surfactant concentrations was about 9% and 7% in the Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Bed reactors (UASB-RALF) and in the secondary treatment, respectively, at the STP - Vila City units. In the post-treatment proposed by filtration/adsorption, bed columns on a pilot scale plant obtained a reduction of approximately 94% in terms of turbidity (NTU) and 95% in terms of surfactant removal.Alternate :Poluiçâo ambiental é uma preocupaçâo mundial, especialmente causada por despejos de esgotos nos coleçâo hídrica. Diversas substancias compöem os despejos e residuos industriais e esgotos domésticos. Os surfactantes destacam-se por serem amplamente usados tanto industrialmente como domesticamente. O consumo de detergentes e diversos tipos de tensoativos foi incrementado durante o período de pandemia da Covid-19, fato observado nos teores de surfactantes no efluente das Estaçöes de Tratamento de Esgoto (ETE) - Vila City entre 21 e 39 mg L-1 neste período de tempo. Este trabalho avaliou as concentraçöes de surfactantes em diferentes etapas da ETE da Vila City, na cidade de Paranavaí, PR.- Brasil. Além disso, propôs-se a utilizaçao de um pós-tratamento por filtraçâo/adsorçâo por carvão ativado produzido a partir da borra de café na remoçao complementar dos surfactantes. Foram confeccionadas colunas de adsorçao com meio filtrante de areia e carvão em escala piloto e realizados ensaios de filtração/adsorção simulando filtração lenta com taxas de aproximadamente 15 m3 m-2 dia-1. Os parámetros utilizados na aval

Influence of surface material and reprocessing on the durability of antimicrobial surfaces

The risk of infection from contaminated surfaces has already been shown in several publications. Due to the increased demand for optimized infection control measures during the Corona pandemic, antimicrobial surface technologies have gained more an interest. Apart from many proofs of efficacy, there are only a few studies dealing with the durability of these surface coatings with regard to the material and the reprocessing measures. This work did therefore examine the impact of different materials and surface textures, as well as different detergents and disinfectants, on the durability of antimicrobial surface technologies. Differently structured materials (glass, wood, plastics, metal) and wallpaper bonded to plasterboard were coated with an TiO2Ag based antimicrobial coating (HECOSOL GmbH, Bamberg). These test samples are then used to perform abrasion tests with various cleaning and disinfecting agents and cloth systems (microfiber cloth, cotton cloth, foam cloth). The majority of the test samples in our experimental setup showed at least significant activity. According to our results, both the selection of cleaning and disinfection methods including wiping systems and the surface material have a major impact on the durability of antimicrobial coatings. In order to be able to come to conclusions about the long-term activity of these surface technologies, the effectiveness should be tested not only during the development phase, but also in the finished product and again after several reprocessing cycles in use. © 2021 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston.

Methods of Inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 for Downstream Biological Assays.

The scientific community has responded to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic by rapidly undertaking research to find effective strategies to reduce the burden of this disease. Encouragingly, researchers from a diverse array of fields are collectively working towards this goal. Research with infectious severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is undertaken in high-containment laboratories; however, it is often desirable to work with samples at lower-containment levels. To facilitate the transfer of infectious samples from high-containment laboratories, we have tested methods commonly used to inactivate virus and prepare the sample for additional experiments. Incubation at 80°C, a range of detergents, Trizol reagents, and UV energies were successful at inactivating a high titer of SARS-CoV-2. Methanol and paraformaldehyde incubation of infected cells also inactivated the virus. These protocols can provide a framework for in-house inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 in other laboratories, ensuring the safe use of samples in lower-containment levels.

Hand hygiene during COVID-19: Recommendations from the American Contact Dermatitis Society.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in increased hand hygiene and hand cleansing awareness. To prevent virus transmission, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends frequent hand washing with soap and water. Hand hygiene products are available in a variety of forms, and while each of these formulations may be effective against COVID-19, they may also alter skin barrier integrity and function. As health care workers and the general population focus on stringent hand hygiene, the American Contact Dermatitis Society anticipates an increase in both irritant contact and allergic contact hand dermatitis. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers with moisturizers have the least sensitizing and irritancy potential when compared to soaps and synthetic detergents. This article provides an overview of the most frequently used hand hygiene products and their associations with contact dermatitis as well as recommendations from the American Contact Dermatitis Society on how to treat and prevent further dermatitis.