Turning poop into profit: Cost-effectiveness and soil transmitted helminth infection risk associated with human excreta reuse in Vietnam

Ngan Tran-Thi, Rachel J Lowe, Janna M Schurer, Tu Vu- Van, Lauren E MacDonald and Phuc Pham-Duc

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2017, vol. 11, issue 11, 1-16

Abstract: Human excreta is a low cost source of nutrients vital to plant growth, but also a source of pathogens transmissible to people and animals. We investigated the cost-savings and infection risk of soil transmitted helminths (STHs) in four scenarios where farmers used either inorganic fertilizer or fresh/composted human excreta supplemented by inorganic fertilizer to meet the nutrient requirements of rice paddies in the Red River Delta, Vietnam. Our study included two main components: 1) a risk estimate of STH infection for farmers who handle fresh excreta, determined by systematic review and meta-analysis; and 2) a cost estimate of fertilizing rice paddies, determined by nutrient assessment of excreta, a retailer survey of inorganic fertilizer costs, and a literature review to identify region-specific inputs. Our findings suggest that farmers who reuse fresh excreta are 1.24 (95% CI: 1.13–1.37, p-value

Date: 2017
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pntd00:0006088

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006088

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