The ''tea bag'' filter is currently being tested by the South African Bureau of Standards, after which the team hopes to roll it out to various communities. It is expected that the filters will be available on the market in January 2011. Several philanthropic organisations have expressed an interest in distributing the filters to the rural areas. It is not yet clear what the product will ultimately cost, but the scientists are confident that it will be a mere fraction of the price of water filters and bottled water used at present.
About 1 billion people worldwide currently have no access to clean water. According to the World Health  Organisation (WHO), four percent of the global disease burden could be prevented by improving water supply, sanitation, and hygiene.

(ib/SU)