An Efficacy Trial of a Gravity Fed Household Water Treatment Device as a Delivery System for Zinc

An Efficacy Trial of a Gravity Fed Household Water Treatment Device as a Delivery System for Zinc in Zinc Deficient Children and Women From Low Income Settings

In low-income settings in developing countries unsafe water is one of the leading causes of high prevalence of waterborne diseases such as diarrhoea.Zinc is an essential trace element that has a critical role in growth and immunity. Supplementation with zinc is considered effective in reducing morbidity from diarrhoeal and other infectious diseases. Verstergaard Frandsen S.A. (Switzerland) has developed a point-of-use water filtration system called LifeStraw®Family (LSF) that removes water's turbidity, reduces the microbiological contamination and enriches water with zinc at a concentration of 3.5 mg/L. The objective of the study is to assess the efficacy of LSF to increase the zinc status (serum zinc concentration) and intake in Kenyan children aged 2-5years with zinc deficiency.The study hypotheses are:

A. Use of the LSF device will reduce microbiological contamination of the household supply of drinking and cooking water; B. Use of the LSF device will increase zinc intakes in preschool children; C. Use of the LSF device will increase serum zinc concentration in preschool children; D. Achieving A, B and C will improve growth in preschool children; E. Achieving A, B and C will reduce the frequency and duration of diarrheal disease in preschool children and in members of the participating households.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Diarrhoea
• Intervention / Treatment: Dietary supplement: Zinc enriched water

Detailed Description

Introduction: In low-income settings in developing countries unsafe water is one of the leading causes of high prevalence of waterborne diseases such as diarrhoea. Point-of-use water treatment systems are currently considered by UNICEF as more effective in delivering safe drinking water than interventions applied at source. Zinc is an essential trace element that has a critical role in growth and immunity. Supplementation with zinc is considered effective in reducing morbidity from diarrhoeal and other infectious diseases. Verstergaard Frandsen S.A. (Switzerland) has developed a point-of-use water filtration system called LifeStraw®Family (LSF) that removes water's turbidity, reduces the microbiological contamination and enriches water with zinc at a concentration of 3.5 mg/L.

Objective: To assess the efficacy of LSF to increase the zinc status (serum zinc concentration) and intake in Kenyan children aged 2-5years with zinc deficiency.

Study Design and Methods: A study population living in an area with low Zn status and sharing the same unimproved water supply will be included in the trial and randomly assigned to one of the treatment groups for 12 months. All households will receive hygiene practice recommendations (HPRs). In addition to HPR, group one will receive the LSF device with the zinc delivery system; group 2 will receive HPRs and a LSF without zinc delivery system, and group 3 will receive HPRs. At baseline, mid-point and end-point, anthropometrics (weight, height, mid-upper arm circumference MUAC), and 7 ml whole blood will be collected from preschool children for determination of SZn, C-reactive protein (CRP), hemoglobin (Hb) and serum ferritin (SF). Children and adult subjects remaining zinc deficient at completion of the trial will receive zinc supplements.

Expected outcome: This study will investigate the efficacy of a water treatment device as a means to provide Zn in communities where high prevalence of surface water use and zinc deficiency coexists. Increasing the microbiological quality of water and the contemporaneous low dose fortification with zinc, could prove useful in the global effort to control zinc deficiency and increase the supply of clean drinking water

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 270
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Kenya
  • Western Kenya
    • Kisumu, Western Kenya, Kenya, +254
      • Maseno University, School of Public health

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 2 years to 45 years (Child, Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Children found to have serum zinc concentration <65μg/dL at pre screening.
• Women that have become pregnant during the study.

Exclusion Criteria for children:

• Subjects with severe anemia (Hb<7g/dl)
• Subjects with severe zinc deficiency (SZn<40 μg/dL)
• Subjects receiving zinc supplementation
• Subject with chronic diseases affecting zinc metabolism, such as kidney diseases or chronic gastrointestinal disease.
• Subjects participating in any other clinical trials in the study site

Exclusion criteria for women:

• Women not residing in the study area until childbirth
• Subjects with severe anemia (Hb<7g/dl)
• Subjects with sever zinc deficiency (SZn<40 μg/dL)
• Subjects receiving zinc supplementation
• Subject with chronic diseases affecting zinc metabolism, such as kidney diseases or chronic gastrointestinal disease.
• Subjects currently enrolled in other clinical trials in other trials on the study site

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Triple

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: zinc enriched water; zinc enriched purified water at 2-6mg/l per day	Dietary supplement: Zinc enriched water; 3mg zinc/L of purified water from a filter installed in the households
No Intervention: purified water only; non zinc enriched, purified drinking water
No Intervention: control group; group of households receiving hygiene practice recommendations and water guard (water purifying solution)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
zinc status	At baseline, endpoint and at a randomly assigned screening between month 1 and 11, a 6 ml whole blood sample will be collected by venipuncture in 2-5y children (N=270). The blood sample will be used to determine concentration of zinc in the serum (SZn). Inflammation indicator C-reactive protein (CRP) will be analysed to adjust SZn values.	one year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
rates of diarrhoea and growth in preschool children	one year

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Wageningen University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Michael Zimmerman, MD, PhD, ETH Zurich , Wageningen University; Principal Investigator: Diego Moretti, PhD, Wageningen University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: August 1, 2011
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 1, 2012
• Study Completion (Actual): September 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 11, 2011
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 28, 2011
• First Posted (Estimate): November 29, 2011

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): February 28, 2014
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 27, 2014
• Last Verified: February 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: zinc water diarrhoea growth preschool children
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Signs and Symptoms, Digestive; Diarrhea
• Other Study ID Numbers: LSF Zinc Kisumu study