By Janet Raloff
An experimental mix of chemicals permits low-cost home treatment of highly contaminated water. The packet has been designed for use in developing countries, where some 5,000 children die each day from diarrheal disease–primarily because of poor sanitation and infected drinking water.
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The new treatment turns even dark, foul-smelling, germ-laden water into a drink as clean as most U.S. tap water, says Stephen Luby of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. The chemicals’ cost should run about a penny per liter of treated water, according to Greg Allgood of Procter and Gamble’s Health Sciences Institute in Cincinnati.