J HEALTH POPUL NUTR 2012 Mar;30(1):17-21 ISSN 1606-0997 | $ 5.00+0.20 ©INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR DIARRHOEAL DISEASE RESEARCH, BANGLADESH Storing Drinking-water in Copper pots Kills Contaminating Diarrhoeagenic Bacteria V.B. Preethi Sudha1, Sheeba Ganesan1, G.P. Pazhani2, T. Ramamurthy2, G.B. Nair2, and Padma Venkatasubramanian1 1Centre for Pharmacognosy, Pharmaceutics and Pharmacology, Institute of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine (formerly Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions), 74/2 Jarakabande Kaval, Yelahanka via Attur, Bangalore 560 0106, Karnataka, India and 2National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, P-33, CIT Road, Scheme XM, Beliaghata, Kolkata 700 010, West Bengal, India ABSTRACT Microbially-unsafe water is still a major concern in most developing countries. Although many water-puri- fication methods exist, these are expensive and beyond the reach of many people, especially in rural areas. Ayurveda recommends the use of copper for storing drinking-water. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of copper pot on microbially-contaminated drinking-water. The antibacterial effect of copper pot against important diarrhoeagenic bacteria, including Vibrio cholerae O1, Shigella flexneri 2a, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, enteropathogenic E. coli, Salmonella enterica Typhi, and Salmonella Pa- ratyphi is reported. When drinking-water (pH 7.83±0.4; source: ground) was contaminated with 500 CFU/mL of the above bacteria and stored in copper pots for 16 hours at room temperature, no bacteria could be recovered on the culture medium. Recovery failed even after resuscitation in enrichment broth, followed by plating on selective media, indicating loss of culturability. This is the first report on the effect of copper on S. flexneri 2a, enteropathogenic E. coli, and Salmonella Paratyphi. After 16 hours, there was a slight increase in the pH of water from 7.83 to 7.93 in the copper pots while the other physicochemical parameters remained unchanged. Copper content (177±16 ppb) in water stored in copper pots was well within the permissible limits of the World Health Organization. Copper holds promise as a point-of-use solution for microbial purification of drinking-water, especially in developing countries. Key words: Bacteria; Copper; Diarrhoea; Drinking-water; Vibrio cholerae; India INTRODUCTION Providing safe drinking-water to the majority of the world’s population, especially to those in devel- oping countries, is still a major problem. Approxi- mately a billion people lack access to safe drink- ing-water (1). Water and food contaminated with bacteria, viruses, and protozoa cause infectious diarrhoea. Diarrhoea is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity, especially in children of developing countries (2) and claims two million lives each year (3). The major aetiological agents Correspondence and reprint requests should be addressed to: Dr. Padma Venkatasubramanian Centre for Pharmacognosy, Pharmaceutics and Pharmacology Institute of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine 74/2 Jarakabande Kaval, Yelahanka via Attur Bangalore 560 0106, Karnataka India Email: padma.venkat@frlht.org OR padmavenkatl@rediffmail.com Fax: +91 080 28567926 that account for over a million diarrhoeal deaths per year, particularly in developing countries, are enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), rotavirus, Vibrio cholerae, and species of Shigella, which are spread through contaminated water and food or from person to person (4). In India, many states still have outbreaks of cholera. During 1996-2007, at least 222,038 individuals were affected by chole- ra (5). Shigellosis, also known as acute bacillary dysentery, is associated with complications, such as haemolytic-uraemic syndrome which can be fatal (6). Shigella flexneri causes approximately 10% of all diarrhoeal episodes among children aged less than five years (7). Infection with ETEC is associated with traveller’s diarrhoea, and the rate of infec- tion is higher in India compared to other develop- ing countries (8). Among the viruses, rotaviruses are the most common cause of diarrhoea in infants and children. In Asia, rotaviruses are responsi- ble for 45% of hospitalizations for severe infantile diarrhoea (9). Microbial quality, though only one of the parameters of safe drinking-water, is a major problem and is a cause of epidemics in developing