Latrine in La Hicaca, Honduras |
These authors found no difference in E. coli hand contamination for the intervention and the control schools, and curiously found an increased risk of hand contamination for girls in schools where new latrines had been constructed (RR: 2.63, 95% CI 1.29-5.34). Although it is not clear why this occurred, the authors postulate that this increase in contamination may have occurred secondary to increased latrine use in the absence of improvements in hand hygiene. The authors note poor student access to soap, a fact that likely critically undermined the overall sanitation program. In a geographically discrete location such as a school, the introduction of latrines in the absence of mechanisms to improve hand hygiene may actually lead to increased fecal contamination of hands, with the potential for spread of diarrheal illness.
Although improving access to latrines is a critical component of improving the overall health of communities, improving latrine access without improving access to soap may actually be harmful. Mechanisms to assure soap access should be built in to hygiene programs.
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