High Fluoride, Modest Fluorosis: Investigation in Drinking Water Supply in Halaba (SNNPR, Ethiopia)
Frank van Steenbergen, Redda Tekle Haimanot, Aschalew Sidelil
.
DOI: 10.4236/jwarp.2011.32014   PDF    HTML     5,815 Downloads   11,734 Views   Citations

Abstract

In Halaba district in Southern Ethiopia fluoride levels from boreholes are high (2.6 to 7.0 mg/l), yet the incidence of fluorosis is modest. Drinking water users living in the vicinity of four drinking water systems that have been in operation for more than 35 years were surveyed. Out of 625 persons 5 percent had severe dental fluorosis and 42 percent had mild forms—which is considerably less than results of other areas with comparable fluoride levels. The incidence was highest in the older age groups. Possible explanations were explored. A likely reason may be the continued large dependence on rain water harvesting ponds for human consumption alongside the use of water from the public borehole systems, but more investigations would be required to confirm this proposition.

Share and Cite:

F. van Steenbergen, R. Tekle Haimanot and A. Sidelil, "High Fluoride, Modest Fluorosis: Investigation in Drinking Water Supply in Halaba (SNNPR, Ethiopia)," Journal of Water Resource and Protection, Vol. 3 No. 2, 2011, pp. 120-126. doi: 10.4236/jwarp.2011.32014.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] Kloos, Helmut and T.-H. Redda, “Distribution of Fluoride and Fluorosis in Ethiopia and Prospects for Control,” Tropical Medicine and International Health, Vol. 4, No. 5, 1999, pp. 355-364. doi:10.1046/j.1365-3156.1999.00405.x
[2] T.-H. Redda, Z. Melaku, H. Kloos, C. Reimann, W. Fantaye, L. Zerihun and K. Bjorvatn, “The Geographic Distribution of Fluoride in Surface and Groundwater in Ethiopia with an Emphasis on the Rift Valley,” Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 367, No. 1, 2005, pp. 182- 190.
[3] J. J. Carrillo-Rivera, A. Cardona and W. M. Edmunds “Use of Abstraction Regime and Knowledge of Hydrogeological Conditions to Control High-Fluoride Concentration in Abstracted Groundwater: San Luis Potosí Basin, Mexico,” Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 261, 2002, pp. 24- 47. doi:10.1016/S0022-1694(01)00566-2
[4] Deneke, Israel and H. A. Hawassa, “The Sustainability of Water Supply Schemes: A Case Study in Halaba Special Woreda,” RiPPLE Research Report 5, 2008.
[5] Fawell, J. K. Bailey, J. Chilton, E. Dahi, L. Fewtrell and Y. Magara, “Fluoride in Drinking-Water,” Geneva, WHO, 2006.
[6] Wondwossen, Fantaye, A. N. Astr?m, K. Bjorvatn and A. Bardsen, “The Relationship between Dental Caries and Dental Fluorosis in Areas with Moderate- and High- Fluoride Drinking Water in Ethiopia,” Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, Vol. 32, 2004, pp. 337- 344. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0528.2004.00172.x
[7] R. W. Kahama, D. N. Kariuki, H. N. Kariuki and L. W. Njenga, “Fluorosis in Children and Sources of Fluoride around Lake Elementaita Region of Kenya,” Fluoride, Vol. 30, No. 1, 1997, pp. 19-25.

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.