Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) of Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, supported by World Health Organization (WHO), has set up a water quality testing laboratory in Cox’s Bazar for assessing the quality of water from the settlements of the newly arrived population.
Prior to this activity, a two days training was conducted by WHO addressed to the newly formed team of 18 DPHE water workers that included theoretical modules, field and lab activities and also orientation for data introducing and processing.
With the launch of the laboratory, 1500 water samples will be collected and tested for e-coli presence every two weeks: 500 from selected tube wells and 2 samples from households that are using the water from each of those tube wells. By having monitored the same sources of water for a longer period of time, the patterns will be observed, especially the hot spots areas with already contaminated water or at high risk for contamination.
The field samples collection will include also sanitary inspections to assess the possible risks for water contamination. The mapping of the quality of water is an important component for prevention and limitation of water borne diseases such as diarrheal diseases, including Cholera, and is part of the early detection mechanism of health threats that was implemented by WHO Bangladesh in the settlements of newly arrived Unregistered Myanmar Nationals.