NCT04258059

Wells and Enteric Disease Transmission Trial (WET - Trial)

Wells and Enteric Disease Transmission - A Randomized Controlled Trial (WET- Trial)

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 28 (actual)
• Sponsor: Temple University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 6 Months – 59 Months
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Approximately 40 million people in the US are served by private wells, many of which are untreated. The investigators estimate that 1.29 million cases of gastrointestinal illness (GI) per year are attributed to consuming water from untreated private wells in the US. These cases of GI can cause a significant burden in terms of health care costs and lost work/school days, as well as increased risk to developing longer term health complications. This impact is magnified when accounting for vulnerable populations such as children under the age of 5, the elderly and the immunocompromised. The investigators are preparing to conduct the first household randomized controlled trial (RCT) to investigate whether consuming well water treated by ultraviolet light (UV) compared to consuming untreated private well water decreases the incidence of self-reported gastrointestinal illness and respiratory infections in children under 5. The investigators will collect illness symptom data using a combination of weekly text messages and online illness questionnaires.

Conditions

• Gastrointestinal Infection
• Respiratory Viral Infection

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	Active household UV water treatment device	This point-of-entry treatment device will use germicidal UV to treat all of the well water used in the home.
DEVICE	Inactive household UV water treatment device	This sham device will use a lamp not emitting germicidal UV.

Timeline

• Start date: 2020-06-30
• Primary completion: 2022-05-01
• Completion: 2022-05-01
• First posted: 2020-02-06
• Last updated: 2025-09-09

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States