Diarrhea is a leading killer of young children around the world, and cases often rise after heavy rains and flooding.
Diarrhea is a leading killer of young children around the world, and cases often rise after heavy rains and flooding. But diarrhea risks can also increase in dry conditions, an ominous sign as the world continues to get warmer due to climate change.
In a new study, Yale researchers found higher rates of diarrhea among children who were living through extended drought. Matters were worse in households that had to travel long distances for water or that lacked water and soap for handwashing. But even adequate sanitation did not compensate for diarrhea risk associated with drought.
“You cannot fully eliminate drought’s impact on diarrhea risk, especially under a climate that will have more drought in the future,” said Kai Chen, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology (Environmental Health) at the Yale School of Public Health and a senior author of the study. “We need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
The study was the largest to ever explore the effects of long-term drought on diarrhea risk in children living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). It was also the first of its kind to use a new measure of drought that takes both water supply and demand into account.
Read more at Yale School of Public Health
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