REPORT #587 January 2003
CHOLERA AND SARI FILTER!


Produced by the Belize Development Trust

Like Belize, India has a Cholera season. Researchers have found a very simple solution.

They tried nylon mesh as a filter for the cholera bacteria. Not so good. But the cloth used to make Indian womens dress the SARI, works great. A sari will filter water and take out the copepods, a type of zooplankton that has the cholera bacteria in the gut. Cholera kills about 80% of people who contract it, without any access to modern medical facilities. The cholera germ releases a toxin that causes extreme diarrhea and cramping. In Belize, most rural villages and farms that are downstream from other human habitations and use the water for drinking, washing clothes, defecating and bathing become vulnerable to Cholera epidemics in Belize annually. Sari cloth is a cheaper alternative to the clinic, and certainly better than not filtering. A Sari filter will also take out other gastrointestinal illnesses.

Sari cloth is available in Belize. Worthy of a radio and newspaper announcement? For dissemination of the message?

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