Water for Iquitos

Hola todos!

It's a perfectly sunny Sunday in Iquitos, and our group is spending the day relaxing and catching up with some overdue Internet/email correspondence.

One of our incredible PSCOM faculty members, Dr. David Craft, departed from Iquitos this morning after spending a highly productive week with us. Through Dr. Craft's contacts with the U.S. Navy, we were able to access the NAMRU-6 microbiology and parasitology labs in Punchana, and receive the training necessary for identifying parasites (in particular, various species of roundworms and amoebas) from human stool samples. Additionally, we were able to meet with CITI-certified translators, refine our household survey questions, purchase supplies for water-sample "coliform bacteria" analysis, and begin mapping out a schedule for our group research project that is set to commence tomorrow in Belen! We're all incredibly grateful to Dr. Craft and the NAMRU-6 crew for their unwavering support thus far. And naturally we will keep you all in the loop about the progression of our latest protocol during the coming weeks.

And now an update about last year's protocol, through which our original team members (Kim, Katie, Chloe, and Derek) collected survey data and potable water samples from 50 homes located between Upper and Lower Belen. Two weeks ago, Derek and Dr. William Strosnider (of Saint Francis University) returned to Belen to discover that the neighborhood was (and still is!) flooded to a much greater extent this year than in previous years. They opted to revisit the original cohort of 50 homes. In order to expand upon the information collected via last year's endeavor, the duo enlisted two health workers, Anabela and Roger, from the 6 de Octubre Health Center to assist them in locating each home and to serve as translators when needed.

While Derek and Dr. Strosnider were unable to revisit all 50 residences -- two had been evacuated during peak flood season and another two had seemingly vanished entirely -- they nevertheless collected useful data on home water use and contamination. In addition, they collected 46 water samples for fecal coliform/E. coli analysis and, thanks to Dr. Strosnider's expertise and equipment cache, conducted turbidity and chlorine tests on each sample. While it will take several weeks to receive the results of the coliform analysis tests from the local microbiology lab, Derek and Dr. Strosnider observed interesting trends in water turbidity and chlorine levels. For instance, it appears that homes located in more distal areas of Lower Belen (aka those experiencing the highest degree of flooding) have drinking water that is significantly MORE turbid and considerably LESS chlorinated than homes in Upper Belen or drier areas of Lower Belen. These preliminary findings suggest that residents of Lower Belen have a greater risk of consuming feces-contaminated water and therefore a greater risk of suffering acute bouts of diarrhea/gastroenteritis. We're greatly anticipating receiving out lab data in order to put the full story together.

Below, for your viewing pleasure, are some photos from Derek and Dr. Strosnider's adventures in Upper and Lower Belen. We hope you enjoy! As always, thanks for your support and hasta pronto!!