I'm Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Development Report.

A few years ago, researchers discovered a simple answer to a bigproblem. They found that the bacteria that causes cholera can beremoved from drinking water with simple cloth filters. Pouring waterfrom rivers or lakes through several thicknesses of cloth can traptiny organisms like the cholera bacteria.

A three-year study took place in Bangladesh. American andBangladeshi scientists went to sixty-five small villages in acountry where cholera is a major health problem. They tested the useof saris as cloth filters. A sari is the traditional clothing wornby most women in Bangladesh.

People in one group of villages used cloth from old saris, foldedeight times, as a filter for their drinking water. People in anothergroup of villages used modern nylon filters for their water. Peoplein the other villages continued to gather water in traditional ways,without using filters. About forty-four thousand people were studiedin each of the three groups of villages.

Rita Colwell from the University of Maryland at College Parkhelped lead the study. She said the people in the villages usingfilters from old saris had the lowest number of cases of cholera.The researchers also found that almost ninety-nine percent ofcholera bacteria could be filtered out with the sari cloth. RitaColwell said cloth from old saris worked best because it has beenwashed repeatedly. She said the space between the threads of thematerial narrows when the cloth is washed, so it traps smallerparticles.

Cholera is an intestinal infection that can develop in the bodyin less than five days. It can quickly lead to severe loss of fluidsthrough diarrhea and vomiting. Cholera can cause death if treatmentis not given quickly. Children under age five are most at risk.

People get the disease by drinking water or eating food thatcontains the bacteria. The disease is most often found in areaswhere there is unclean water and poor systems for treating humanwaste.

The most recent yearly report on cholera on the Web site of theWorld Health Organization is for two thousand two. That year,fifty-two countries reported a total of one hundred forty-twothousand cases. These infections resulted in more than four thousandfive hundred deaths.

This VOA Special English Development Report was written by JillMoss. I'm Gwen Outen.