Review Article Page 1 of 14 How are water treatment technologies used in developing countries and which are the most effective? An implication to improve global health Caleb Zinn1, Rachel Bailey1, Noah Barkley1, Mallory Rose Walsh1, Ashlen Hynes1, Tameka Coleman1, Gordana Savic1, Kacie Soltis1, Sharmika Primm1, Ubydul Haque2 1Department of Public Health & Prevention Sciences, Baldwin Wallace University, Berea, OH, USA; 2Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, USA Contributions: (I) Conception and design: C Zinn, U Haque; (II) Administrative support: None; (III) Provision of study materials or patients: None; (IV) Collection and assembly of data: All authors; (V) Data analysis and interpretation: U Haque; (VI) Manuscript writing: All authors; (VII) Final approval of manuscript: All authors. Correspondence to: Ubydul Haque. Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, USA. Email:
[email protected]. Abstract: Worldwide, there are an estimated 2.3 billion people living in water-scarce and stressed areas. The water in these areas may contain harmful pathogens, such as bacteria, that can have a negative effect on human health. Poor sanitation, lack of hygiene, contaminated water sources, and the overall poor quality of drinking water leads to disease and death amongst people of all ages in underdeveloped and developing countries. In order to better the health of these communities and the quality of water, affordable water treatment technologies that can reduce harmful contamination to potable water standards must continue to be developed. The purpose of this study is to review the currently available techniques, such as solar water disinfection (SODIS), chlorination, ceramic and biosand water filtration and slow sand filtration, that can be utilized in developing countries.