Shared sanitation and the spread of COVID-19: risks and next steps

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Bethany Caruso, Emory University; Matthew Freeman, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2020-05-01
• Publisher: Elsevier Science Ltd.
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30086-3
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: The Lancet Planetary Health
• Volume: 4
• Issue: 5
• Start Page: E173
• End Page: E173
• Grant/Funding Information: None declared
• Keywords: Public, Environmental & Occupational Health; Science & Technology; Environmental Sciences; Environmental Sciences & Ecology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Public Health; Health Sciences, Epidemiology; Health Sciences, Hygiene

Abstract

Directives to self-quarantine and social distance are essential to slow the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), but how can people follow these directives if they do not have a household toilet? Over a billion people need to leave their homes to meet sanitation needs. An estimated 9% (673 million) of the global population defecate in the open and another 8% (627 million) use a facility shared with at least one other household as their primary sanitation location.1 Sharing of such facilities can be small scale, with a few households, but can also include public, pay-per-use facilities in large informal settlements. The proportion of the global population sharing is only reported for those with improved facilities and is likely underestimated