Robert Bain and colleagues conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess whether water from "€œimproved" sources is less likely to contain fecal contamination than "unimproved" sources and find that access to an "€œimproved source"€ provides a measure of sanitary protection but does not ensure water is free of fecal contamination.

An estimated 2.5 billion people worldwide lack access to improved sanitation facilities. While large-scale programs in some countries have increased latrine coverage, they sometimes fail to ensure optimal latrine use, including the safe disposal of child feces, a significant source of exposure to fecal pathogens. We undertook a cross-sectional study to explore fecal disposal practices among children in rural Orissa, India in villages where the Government of India's Total Sanitation Campaign had been implemented at least three years prior to the study.

Fecal bacteria are frequently found at much greater distances than would be predicted by laboratory studies, indicating that improved models that incorporate more complexity might be needed to explain the widespread contamination of many shallow aquifers. In this study, laboratory measurements of breakthrough and retained bacteria in columns of intact and repacked sediment cores from Bangladesh were fit using a two-population model with separate reversible and irreversible attachment sites that also incorporated bacterial decay rates.

According to a World Bank Sponsored Study (State of Environment Report- U.P.) pollution levels in the Ganga are contributing 9-12% of total disease burden in Uttar Pradesh. The coliform bacteria levels are in excess of 2 lakh MPN as against the national water quality standard of 5000. The report estimated total health damage on account of water pollution in up to is around 6.4 million daily (Disability Adjusted Life Year).

Pit latrines are one of the most common human excreta disposal systems in low-income countries, and their use is on the rise as countries aim to meet the sanitation-related target of the Millennium Development Goals. There is concern, however, that pit latrine discharges of chemical and microbial contaminants to groundwater may negatively affect human health.