A
pit latrine or
pit toilet is a type of
toilet that collects
human feces in a hole in the ground. They use either no
water or one to three liters per flush with pour-flush pit latrines. When properly built and maintained they can decrease the spread of disease by reducing the amount of human feces in the environment from
open defecation. This decreases the transfer of
pathogens between feces and food by
flies. These pathogens are major causes of
infectious diarrhea and
intestinal worm infections. Infectious diarrhea resulted in about 0.7 million deaths in children under five years old in 2011 and 250 million lost school days. Pit latrines are the lowest cost method of separating feces from people.