The association between domestic animal presence and ownership and household drinking water contamination among periurban communities of Kisumu, Kenya

This study, published by Barnes et al (2018) in PLOS ONE, details a cross-sectional household survey of 800 households conducted across three informal peri-urban neighborhoods of Kisumu, Kenya, collecting stored drinking water samples, administering a household survey including water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure and behaviors, and recording domestic animal presence and ownership. The majority of households sampled had fecally contaminated drinking water (67%), defined by the presence of any colony forming units of the fecal indicator bacteria enterococci. The study concludes that water, sanitation, and hygiene strategies to reduce diarrheal disease should consider the promotion of safe animal contact alongside more traditional interventions focusing on the management of human waste.