Tropical Medicine and Health Vol. 36 No. 2, 2008, pp. 65-74 Copyright! 2008 by The Japanese Society of Tropical Medicine ６５ Original article Bacterial contamination of drinking water and nutritional quality of diet in the areas of the western Solomon Islands devastated by the April 2, 2007 earthquake/tsunami Takuro Furusawa1*, Norio Maki2 and Shingo Suzuki2 Received 14 December, 2007 Accepted 6 March, 2008 Published online 2 July, 2008 Abstract: On 2nd April 2007, at 7:40 local time (20:40 GMT 1 April), a massive earthquake, the epicenter of which was 10 km deep and 45 km south-southeast of Gizo, the provincial capital of the Western Province, struck the Solomon Islands, killing 52 people and displacing approximately 5,000. This study, based on field research in May 2007, reports on the result of the cross-sectional assessment of the bacterial contamination (E. coli, Vibrio spp. and total bacteria) of drinking water and water sources and the longitudinal comparison of dietary intake and epide- miology in six earthquake- and tsunami-affected villages in the Western Province, Solomon Islands. The test-paper method revealed that 92.0% of drinking-water was unsafe in four camps of evacuated people. Only 3 out of 11 drink-water samples collected from safe water sources were free from contamination throughout the study villages. The reported occurrence of diarrhea, while only 7.6 per mil in 2001 and 4.8 per mil in 2003 in one of the study vil- lages, was 12.7 person-days per mil after the disaster in 2007. Deterioration of dietary intakes was not observed. Although further studies are expected to follow up on the changes in water, diet, and health in mid- and long-term recovery operations, the rapid assessment suggested the need to provide safe water or purifiers and education re- garding water and hygiene-related management in order to minimize health risks in devastated villages. Keywords: tsunami, bacterial contamination, water, dietary intake, diarrhea curing safe drinking water (provision of clean water, purifi- INTRODUCTION ers, and containers) and ensuring adequate dietary intake On 2nd April 2007, at 7:40 local time (20:40 GMT 1 April), (with rice, biscuits, and noodles) [3-6]. While a survey re- a massive earthquake, the epicenter of which was 10 km ported that sufficient food was provided within the same deep and 45 km south-southeast of Gizo, the provincial month [7], appeals for food relief continued on the local ba- capital of the Western Province, struck the Solomon Islands sis. Severe outbreaks of infectious diseases went unre- [1]. This earthquake and the related tsunami and landslides ported, but there was an increasing risk of communicable killed 52 people, displaced approximately 5,000, wrecked diseases due to the delayed recovery of broken water sys- 3,150 houses, and left behind an affected population of tems, and degraded hygiene [3, 8]. Several scientific re- 24,059 from 4,276 households in the Western and Choiseul search projects on natural mechanisms [9-11] and emer- Provinces [2]. The damage was greatest for the dwellers in gency aid and recovery efforts [3, 8] have been made; how- Gizo town and the neighboring peri-urban villages in Ghizo ever, few studies have been conducted on the living condi- Island, followed by fishing-horticulturalists on islands in the tions of the people. two provinces. In the devastated areas, the people took ref- In May 2007, the authors surveyed the devastated vil- uge on mountain ridges, since houses and infrastructure, in- lages for the social aspects of the disaster, such as response cluding water supply and storage, hygiene, and subsistence and recovery processes [12]. During these visits, the bacte- tools (canoes, agriculture tools, etc.), were destroyed. riological quality of drinking water and water sources were National, international, and non-governmental efforts assessed. In addition, dietary habits and epidemiological were made to deliver relief goods, with priority given to se- conditions were also surveyed in one of the villages where 1 Division for International Relations, The University of Tokyo 2 Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University ＊ Corresponding author: Division for International Relations, The University of Tokyo 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8654, JAPAN Tel: +81-3-5841-1682 Fax: +81-3-5689-7344 ６６ one of the authors (TF) had collected comparable data since lected from a source was usually stored in a kettle or plastic 2001, in the pre-disaster period. (PET) bottle at home; however, the plastic containers newly This study reports on the result of the cross-sectional provided in relief operations were also used in the devas- assessment of the bacterial contamination of drinking water tated areas. Rainwater was also collected in used iron oil and water resources and the longitudinal comparison of die- drums. Pit-hole toilets in the peri-urban and mangrove and tary intake and epidemiology in the earthquake- and coastal areas in rural villages, respectively, were used as la- tsunami-affected villages in the Western Province, Solomon trines. A health report issued by the Ministry of Health and Islands. Medical Services [15] showed that watery and bloody diar- rhea occurred at a rate of 51 and 5 cases per 1000 popula- tion, respectively, in the Western Province in 2006 － the STUDY SITES year before the earthquake (note that there was no report The Solomon Islands are in the early stages of economic suggesting ethnic differences of water-borne infectious dis- development, and their PPP (purchasing power parity) GNI eases in the province). per capita of 1,520 international dollars in 2002 was lower The earthquake wrecked houses in Ghizo Island, while than the average for the low-income countries in the region the tsunami wreaked havoc on Ghizo, Simbo, and other is- [13]. Most of the rural villagers, who accounted for 84% of lands in the Western Province and Choiseul Province, and the total population, depended on fishing and horticulture large landslides occurred in the western parts of Ranonnga and irregular cash earnings from activities such as selling Island (Figure 1). With a land area of 5,279 km2, the West- marine resources, marketing crops, and engaging in tempo- ern Province had 62,739 people, 94.5% of whom were in- rary waged labor at the logging camp [14]. On the other digenous Melanesians―the customary land owners―while hand, due to the progress of urbanization, the dwellers in 3.5% were immigrant Micronesians: landless fishermen set- the urban areas―i.e., the national capital of Honiara, the tled on governmental land [16]. The Micronesians were mi- provincial capital of Gizo in the Western Province and Auki grants from the over-populated Gilbert Islands (Kiribati) in Malaita Province―relied on income from waged labor, who came over in the 1960s [17-19]. Out of 52 deaths, 33, or on employment as public servants, store managers or including at least 29 Micronesians, occurred on Ghizo Is- food purchasers for stores and markets. A water supply land, followed by 11 on Simbo Island. The Micronesians (purified water collected from the inner mountains) and toi- settlements were unfortunately located on coasts facing the lets were available in parts of some towns, while drinking epicenter. International, governmental, and non-govern- water was collected from rainwater tanks (galvanized steel mental relief operations were also based in Gizo town, al- or fiberglass), or non-purified water supplied from moun- though the nearby town of Munda was the center for cargo tain pools, springs or rivers in other areas. The water col- transportation when the Gizo airfield was closed. A state of Table 1. Descriptions of the study villages 1.5 months after the April 2 earthquake and tsunami Village name Titiana Niu Manda Tapurai Mondo Dunde Olive Island name Ghizo Ghizo Simbo Ranongga New Georgia New Georgia Modernity a High High Low Low High Low Major effects Tsunami Tsunami Tsunami Landslides Earthquake/sea-level rise Earthquake/sea-level rise Population b 370 280 300 600 1065 365 No. of deaths 10 9 7 2 0 0 Current settlement Camp on a Camp on a Camp in Rupe Camp on a Not changed Not changed mountain ridge mountain ridge village: Nearby mountain ridge (approximately 10 settlement households lived in the camp on a mountain ridge) Main source of drinking Piped water Piped water Piped water supply Piped water Piped water supply Spring, river and rainwater water before disaster supply (purified) supply (purified) from inner mountain supply from (purified) and rainwater tank and rainwater and rainwater spring inner mountain tank tank tank spring Source of drinking water River stream River stream Piped water supply Spring Piped water supply Spring, river and rainwater after disaster from inner mountain (purified) and rainwater tank spring tank a Modernity was subjectively assessed according to the authors’ observation of housing styles, distance from town, existence of schools, and main economic activities. b Population figures are based on interviews with village representatives in Titiana, Niu Manda, Tapurai, and Mondo, and a census by one of the authors (TF) in Dunde and Olive in 2003. ６７ emergency was declared on the 2nd day of the disaster. On bertese settlements on Ghizo Island, Tapurai in Simbo, April 5th, a team from the United Nations Disaster Assess- Mondo in Ranongga, Dunde, and Olive on New Georgia Is- ment and Coordination (UNDAC) arrived in Honiara, and a land. Among these, Titiana (population: approximately regular Stakeholder Meeting began to organize the activities 370), Niu Manda (280), and Tapurai (300) were totally of the NDC (National Disaster Council) of the Solomon Is- washed away by the tsunami, and all villagers took refuge lands, NGOs, local societies, and national and provincial on higher ground or in a nearby settlement (hereafter re- governments.