Waithaka Paul N, Maingi John Muthini, Nyamache Anthony Kebira
Department of Biological Sciences, St. Joseph's Kirima School, P. O. Box 17991, Nakuru, Kenya.
Department of Microbiology, Kenyatta University, P. O. Box 43844, Nairobi, Kenya.
Open Microbiol J. 2015 Aug 31;9:117-24. doi: 10.2174/1874285801509010117. eCollection 2015.
Nakuru North sub-county is a peri-urban area which has both dry and wet seasons. Its residents rely mostly on untreated water sources for daily water needs due to unreliable water supply from the urban council. However, this water has not been evaluated on its quality despite residents solely depending on it. This study was aimed at determining the physico-chemical and bacteriological quality of water drawn from River Kandutura and water taps in Nakuru North sub-county. In addition, the study was aimed at carrying out sensitivity test of the isolates to antibiotics and determining effectiveness of solar disinfection in water treatment. A total of 510 water samples; river (255) and taps (255) were collected and analyzed between January and December 2013. Antimicrobial sensitivity test was carried out using Kirby Bauer disk diffusion test. Out of five hundred and ten (510) samples examined for microorganisms, 36.86 % (188/510) were positive for E. coli, Shigella and Salmonella. Water used by Nakuru North sub-county residents is highly contaminated thus posing public health risk. Solar disinfection experiment indicated a possibility of effective decontamination of water up on exposure to sun light for 3-5 h. E. coli showed the highest resistance (26.3 %) followed by Salmonella (17.4 %) while Shigella showed the least (17.1 %). However, there was no significant deference (p=0.98) in resistance among total coliforms, Total heterotrophic and Salmonella at 0.05 level of significant. There is a need to enforce laws and policies on proper waste disposal as part of water pollution control.
纳库鲁北次县是一个城乡结合部地区，有旱季和雨季。由于市议会供水不可靠，其居民日常用水大多依赖未经处理的水源。然而，尽管居民完全依赖这种水，但尚未对其水质进行评估。本研究旨在确定从坎杜图拉河和纳库鲁北次县水龙头抽取的水的物理化学和细菌学质量。此外，该研究旨在对分离株进行抗生素敏感性测试，并确定太阳能消毒在水处理中的有效性。2013年1月至12月期间，共采集并分析了510份水样；其中河水样（255份）和水龙头水样（255份）。采用 Kirby Bauer 纸片扩散法进行抗菌敏感性试验。在检测的510份微生物样本中，36.86%（188/510）大肠杆菌、志贺氏菌和沙门氏菌检测呈阳性。纳库鲁北次县居民使用的水受到高度污染，因此对公众健康构成风险。太阳能消毒实验表明，水在暴露于阳光下3至5小时后有可能有效净化。大肠杆菌的耐药性最高（26.3%），其次是沙门氏菌（17.4%），而志贺氏菌的耐药性最低（17.1%）。然而，在0.05的显著水平下，总大肠菌群、总异养菌和沙门氏菌之间的耐药性没有显著差异（p = 0.98）。有必要执行关于适当废物处理的法律和政策，作为水污染控制的一部分。
