Ceramic indoor stoves did not significantly reduce the risk of pneumonia in young children. Pheumonia is the leading cause of death in children under five years of age in developing countries, most of these deaths occure in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Household air pollution can increase the risk of pneumonia unfortunately the ceramic stoves didn’t reduce the risk enough to make a significant difference.
Inexpensive, locally-produced ceramic cookstoves may produce less smoke than traditional indoor 3-stone firepits, but they don’t significantly reduce indoor air pollution or the risk of pneumonia in young children, according to results from a small, year-long observational study by researchers working in rural Kenya.
The findings, published online today in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, are the first to examine the health impacts of ceramic cookstoves that do not vent smoke to the outside of the house, said Robert Quick, MD, MPH, a researcher in the Division of Waterborne, Foodborne, and Enteric Diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Women who used the ceramic stoves (called “upesi jiko,” which is Swahili for “quick stove”) reported less smoke in their homes, along with fewer stinging eyes and runny noses. However, the study found that even though there were fewer respiratory symptoms, these stoves only reduced air pollution by 13 percent and there was no significant difference in pneumonia among children under 3 years of age in these homes when compared to those in homes with 3-stone firepits. . . Continue Reading
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