Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Usage and Microbial Safety of Shared and Unshared Excreta Disposal Facilities in Developing Countries: The case of a Ghanaian Rural District

Peter Appiah Obeng
* ORCID logo ,
Eric Awere
* ORCID logo ,
Panin Asirifua Obeng
,
Michael Oteng-Peprah
,
Albert Kaabieredomo Mwinsuubo
,
Alessandra Bonoli
,
Sharon Amanda Quaye
Version 1 : Received: 30 May 2023 / Approved: 1 June 2023 / Online: 1 June 2023 (07:29:21 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Obeng, P.A.; Awere, E.; Obeng, P.A.; Oteng-Peprah, M.; Mwinsuubo, A.K.; Bonoli, A.; Quaye, S.A. Usage and Microbial Safety of Shared and Unshared Excreta Disposal Facilities in Developing Countries: The Case of a Ghanaian Rural District. Sustainability 2023, 15, 10282. Obeng, P.A.; Awere, E.; Obeng, P.A.; Oteng-Peprah, M.; Mwinsuubo, A.K.; Bonoli, A.; Quaye, S.A. Usage and Microbial Safety of Shared and Unshared Excreta Disposal Facilities in Developing Countries: The Case of a Ghanaian Rural District. Sustainability 2023, 15, 10282.

Abstract

Sharing facilities with other households offers the most realistic opportunity for access to sanitation to many households in low-income settings. However, questions remain about the safety of shared toilets, including those shared at the household level. This study sought to compare the usage and microbial safety of household-level shared and unshared toilets in a Ghanaian rural district to investigate any association between their microbial safety and sharing status. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data on the user characteristics of the sampled toilets, while common contact surfaces (door handles and toilet seats) were assessed for faecal contamination following standard swab sampling and analytical protocols. The results of the study indicate that sharing toilets affords about 90% more household-level access to sanitation as compared to single-household toilets. Toilet sharing mostly occurred between two households, with a maximum user population of 14 per toilet. Generally, there was a high prevalence of faecal contamination of the door handles and seats of both shared and unshared toilets, but this had no association with the sharing status of the toilets. The median concentration of E. coli on door handles and seats of shared toilets were 34.3 x 105 and 103.2 x 105 CFU/ml respectively as compared to 54.7 x 105 and 125.0 x 105 CFU/ml respectively on unshared toilets. In conclusion, the sharing of toilets at the household level nearly doubles access to sanitation at home without necessarily exposing the users to a higher risk of faecal-oral disease transmission.

Keywords

shared sanitation; microbial safety; toilet sharing; toilet usage; Ghana; SDG 6.2; excreta disposal facilities

Subject

Environmental and Earth Sciences, Waste Management and Disposal

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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