Objectives: To measure the salinity levels of common water sources in coastal Bangladesh andexplore perceptions of water palatability among the local population to investigate the plausibility oflinking cholera outbreaks in Bangladesh with ingestion of saline-rich cholera-infected river water.
Methods: Hundred participants took part in a taste-testing experiment of water with varying levelsof salinity. Salinity measurements were taken of both drinking and non-drinking water sources.Informal group discussions were conducted to gain an in-depth understanding of water sources andwater uses.
Results: Salinity levels of non-drinking water sources suggest that the conditions for Vibrio choleraesurvival exist 7–8 days within the local aquatic environment. However, 96% of participants in thetaste-testing experiment reported that they would never drink water with salinity levels that would beconducive to V. cholerae survival. Furthermore, salinity levels of participant’s drinking water sourceswere all well below the levels required for optimal survival of V. cholerae. Respondents explainedthat they preferred less salty and more aesthetically pleasing drinking water.
Conclusion: Theoretically, V. cholerae can survive in the river systems in Bangladesh; however,water sources which have been contaminated with river water are avoided as potential drinkingwater sources. Furthermore, there are no physical connecting points between the river system anddrinking water sources among the study population, indicating that the primary driver for choleracases in Bangladesh is likely not through the contamination of saline-rich river water into drinkingwater sources.