Purosan ORS+
Child mortality must be significantly reduced.
Purosan ORS+ – The Safe ORS
Worldwide, diarrhoea is the second most common cause of death among children under five years of age, accounting for 525,000 deaths annually, 46 per cent of which occur in Africa alone. In addition, 2.8 million people contract cholera every year. The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) target is to reduce under-five child mortality from diarrhoea by one child per 1,000 live births by 2025. Their recommended and applied standard therapy is simple, inexpensive and effective: a treatment with so-called Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS).
Water that makes sick instead of benefiting
The concept and composition of ORS were implemented by the WHO as early as the 1970s. If provided worldwide, the administration of ORS with clean drinking water is crucial for successful treatment. However, the access to safe drinking water is one of the greatest problems in the affected countries. Often, the locally available water itself is the cause of infection. Boiling or disinfection with chlorine is supposed to prevent this. However, both measures are not always practicable and safe everywhere, so that ORS dissolved in contaminated water often leads to reinfection with pathogens.
Purosan ORS+
Making oral rehydration therapy safe when water quality is unsafe.
The safe ORS
Unlike previously used disinfection solutions containing chlorine, Purosan ORS+ meets the WHO’s recommendation for household water treatment. The gaseous release of chlorine dioxide from the solid component also disinfects the dry areas of the mixing container (bottle, sipping cup, hose, etc.). The combined effect of Purosan ORS+ makes prior disinfection of the water for the ORS solution unnecessary. The tasteless chlorine dioxide component decomposes in the body to produce common salt and lime. Even an overdose is therefore harmless. Medically untrained personnel or the lack of specific equipment, therefore, present no difficulty in carrying out the procedure. Another advantage of Purosan ORS+ is its long storage capability of 10 years, which would ensure a nationwide supply of safe ORS.
Due to its safe applicability and enduring stability in storage, Purosan ORS+ is suitable as a crisis intervention agent. In particular, in humanitarian emergencies where no safe water supply exists or can be established and waterborne diarrhoea occurs first, Purosan ORS+ can safely treat the disease and prevent hospitalisation and fatal outcome in children under five years of age.
Using the solid chlorine dioxide component, large volumes of drinking water can be produced easily, safely and without a noticeable taste, even independently of the Purosan ORS+ multi-chamber bag.
- Chlorine dioxide acts independently of pH
- being two and a half times more biocidal than chlorine
- but without any health hazard to the human organism
Disinfection with chlorine dioxide achieves very high effectiveness after only 10 minutes, against both bacterial and viral contamination of the ORS solutions.