Department of Biology, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, P.O. box 79, Ethiopia.
Simada District Educational Office, Wegeda town, Simada, Ethiopia.
J Environ Public Health. 2021 Feb 8;2021:6646269. doi: 10.1155/2021/6646269. eCollection 2021.
Waterborne diseases continue to challenge communities in low-income countries like Ethiopia. Clinical information in Wegeda town showed that the prevalence of waterborne diseases was 58%. This study aimed to evaluate bacteriological and physicochemical drinking water quality in Wegeda town. This study will add valuable scientific data for future intervention. Water samples from protected and unprotected springs, hand-dug well, taps, and households' containers were collected from November 2018 to June 2019 for bacteriological and physicochemical analyses. Besides, information about the potential risk factors was collected using a structured questionnaire. A total of 120 water samples were collected and analyzed for total and fecal coliform counts using the multiple tube fermentation method (MPN). The presence of was also checked from fecal coliform positive samples collected from households' containers. Selected physicochemical parameters were also determined using the standard methods. In all cases, the median values of total and fecal coliform counts ranged from 5 to 27 and 2 to 13 MPN/100 ml, respectively. Accordingly, all of the drinking water samples did not comply with the standards. Coliforms were significantly higher in the households' containers than in the sources ( < 0.05) and also significantly varied by water sources. The highest and lowest coliform counts were recorded in unprotected spring and taps, respectively. Besides, 18.33% of water samples collected from households' containers were tested positive for . Regarding physicochemical parameters, most values were within the acceptable limit values recommended by the WHO. However, water samples from unprotected spring and hand-dug well did not satisfy the turbidity limit value set by the WHO. Drinking water systems in Wegeda town were likely contaminated with pathogenic bacteria likely due to poor protection and sanitation practices. Providing the community with potable water, toilets, domestic and animal waste disposal systems, and intensive health education and sanitation practices for the community are highly recommended.
在埃塞俄比亚等低收入国家，水传播疾病仍然是对社区的挑战。韦加达镇的临床信息显示，水传播疾病的患病率为 58%。本研究旨在评估韦加达镇饮用水的细菌学和理化质量。这项研究将为未来的干预措施提供有价值的科学数据。本研究于 2018 年 11 月至 2019 年 6 月期间采集了来自受保护和不受保护的泉水、手挖井、水龙头和家庭容器的水样，进行细菌学和理化分析。此外，还使用结构化问卷收集了有关潜在危险因素的信息。共采集了 120 个水样，使用多管发酵法（MPN）检测总大肠菌群和粪大肠菌群计数。还从家庭容器中收集的粪大肠菌群阳性样本中检查了 的存在。还使用标准方法测定了选定的理化参数。在所有情况下，总大肠菌群和粪大肠菌群计数的中位数范围分别为 5 至 27 和 2 至 13 MPN/100ml。因此，所有饮用水样都不符合标准。容器中的大肠菌群明显高于水源（<0.05），并且也因水源而显著不同。未受保护的泉水和水龙头中的大肠菌群计数最高和最低。此外，从家庭容器中采集的 18.33%的水样检测出 呈阳性。关于理化参数，大多数值在世界卫生组织推荐的可接受限值范围内。然而，来自未受保护的泉水和手挖井的水样不符合世界卫生组织规定的浊度限值。韦加达镇的饮用水系统可能受到了致病细菌的污染，这可能是由于保护和卫生措施不佳造成的。强烈建议为社区提供饮用水、厕所、家庭和动物废物处理系统，并对社区进行强化健康教育和卫生措施。
