Perceived health problems among users of wastewater for aquaculture in Southeast Asian cities

Abstract

To obtain essential information for the planning of epidemiological studies on health risks of exposure to wastewater in aquaculture, a total of 3089 people from 606 households involved in aquaculture in Phnom Penh, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City were interviewed in a cross-sectional survey in May 2004. In this study household members were asked about health problems that they had experienced. Our results indicate that the most important health problem associated with wastewater exposure was skin problems, reported by 4% of all people surveyed. Contact with wastewater was an important factor associated with self-reported skin problems. The study suggests that exposure to wastewater is a risk factor for skin problems.

Keywords:

• Aquaculture
• Hanoi
• Ho Chi Minh City
• Phnom Penh
• Risk factors
• Skin problems
• Wastewater

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the team members of the Research Institute of Aquaculture No.1 in Hanoi; the Faculty of Fisheries of Nong Lam University in Ho Chi Minh City; and the Faculty of Fisheries of the Royal University of Agriculture in Phnom Penh for collecting the health data. The EU-INCO-DEV project ‘Production in Aquatic Peri-Urban Systems in Southeast Asia’ (PAPUSSA) provided the financial support as did the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) through the research capacity building project ‘Sanitary Aspects of Drinking Water and Wastewater Reuse in Vietnam’, grant no. 104.Dan.8.L.