Bacteriological Quality of Water Contaminated with Faecal Wastes from Livestock

Abstract

Water is very important to life but when contaminated, it can be deleterious to life. Livestock from various farms produce large amount of faecal wastes. Most cattle farmers move their animals from place to place around Imo State, Nigeria, in search of pasture, these animals defeacate indiscriminately. Again, many farmers indulge in indiscriminate disposal of animal wastes. These faecal wastes can be carried by runoff water into surrounding water sources causing them to become contaminated. This study was therefore carried out to determine the prevalence of possible pathogenic bacteria in water contaminated with poultry litters, cow and pig dungs. Faecal samples from poultry, cows and pigs were collected from School of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology (SAAT) farm in the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), Imo State, Nigeria. The contaminated water samples were examined for the prevalence of bacteria. Isolation and characterization of bacteria were done using standard microbiological protocols. Results revealed the presence of Escherichia coli, Enterobacter aerogenes, Serratia marcescens, Erwinia amylovora, Vibrio cholerae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Citrobacter freundii, Proteus vulgaris, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus faecalis and Salmonella typhi. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most prevalent isolate followed by Escherichia coli and Vibrio cholera. The presence of these organisms of public health importance in water contaminated by livestock faeces calls for continuous surveillance of various water sources prone to faecal contamination. Appropriate treatment and disposal methods of these faecal samples as well as appropriate treatment of water source prone to such contaminants should be adopted so as to avert the possible health hazards resulting from use of water from such contaminated sources.