This randomized control trial examined the effectiveness of a rural sanitation intervention to prevent diarrhea, soil-transmitted helminth infection, and child malnutrition in India. Contrary to other systematic reviews that have revealed health gains from rural household sanitation, the findings showed no evidence that a sanitation program in rural Odisha reduced exposure to fecal contamination or prevented diarrhea, soil-transmitted helminth infection, or child malnutrition. However, they are consistent with another trial of a sanitation project implemented within the context of the Total Sanitation Campaign in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
Clasen, T., Boisson, S., Routray, P., Torondel, B.,Bell, M., et al. The Lancet Global Health (November 2014) Vol. 2 No. 11 pp. e645-e653m.