Small ceramic indoor cookstoves do not reduce pneumonia incidence among children, study shows

"Small ceramic indoor stoves, such as those sold by women in AIDS self-help groups in Africa, do save fuel and cut down on eye-irritating smoke, a new study has found -- but they do not save children from pneumonia," the New York Times reports. "The study, published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, compared 168 households in rural Kenya that used either 'upesi jiko' [ceramic] stoves or traditional three-stone indoor fires," the newspaper writes, noting, "Biweekly visits by researchers found that children in both the stove and open-fire homes got pneumonia equally often" (McNeil, 12/17). Though the ceramic stoves have some benefits, such as reduced smoke in the home and lower risk of burns, Rob Quick, a medical epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a member of the research team, said, "[O]ur group is studying six novel cookstove technologies designed to cleaner burning, and we should have results in the next few months to see if one or more of these cookstove designs offer potential for reducing the risk of pneumonia," according to VOA News (Lewis, 12/17).