Water Purifier to Reduce Global Diarrheal Illness

A new water purifier has been developed and found effective for providing clean drinking water for people living in developing countries.

Called PuR, the purifier was shown to significantly reduce diarrheal illness in two health intervention trials conducted by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, Atlanta, GA, USA). Other studies have demonstrated that PuR significantly removes pathogenic bacterial viruses, and parasites from water. These findings were published in the June 19, 2003 issue of the Journal of Water and Health.

PuR uses the same ingredients as large-scale water-treatment facilities but has been reverse-engineered to purify water in the home. The process is simple. Mixing the contents of a small packet into a container of water separates the dirt and other contaminants from the water within minutes. The water is then filtered through a cloth to provide cleaner, safer water.

PuR was developed by the Procter & Gamble Health Sciences Institute (Mason, OH, USA). P&G is in discussions with relief agencies about providing products for emergency water use. For example, the International Rescue Committee has purchased enough PuR to provide 3.5 million liters of drinking water for people in Iraq. Also, P&G has joined with the CDC, the International Council of Nurses, and 20 other organizations to establish the International Network to Promote Safe Household Water Treatment and Storage.

"We estimate that 5,000 children die every day because of diarrheal illness,” said Steve Luby, M.D., medical epidemiologist with the CDC. "If we can get people to use products like PuR to decontaminate water in their homes and store it safely, we can reduce the incidence of diarrhea and illness and save thousands of lives.”



Related Links:
Center for Disease Control and Prevention
P&G Health Sciences