Abstract
Globally, water-borne diseases have continued to challenge the health conditions of both developed and developing countries. In Uganda, most water-borne diseases are known to be the leading causes of serious health burden among the inhabitants. The study objectives were to characterize microscopic isolates using biochemical tests as well as identify the possible sources of contamination of spring water which is the commonest source of water used by rural inhabitants for domestic activities in Bushenyi-Ishaka Municipality, Bushenyi district, Western Uganda. Samples of spring water were collected from all accessible spring water sources in Bushenyi-Ishaka Municipality, Western Uganda. A total of 48 spring water samples were collected using 500 ml sterile glass bottles. The sources of contamination of the spring water samples were determined using a Sanitary Inspection Checklist which was designed using some standard response factors from a collection of standard reference checklists for drinking water quality assessment. Distribution of isolates and indicator pathogens of fecal contamination recovered from positive samples shows 77.8% from Nyakabirizi, 75% from Ishaka and 52.63% from Central divisions. Among the isolates, <i>Pseudomonas</i> spp and <i>Shigella</i> spp appeared more frequent with overall percentage of (52.63%) and (45.83%) whereas, <i>Klebsiella, Staphylococcus aureus</i> and <i>Escherichia</i> coli were found in (31.25%), (12.5%) and (6.25%) respectively. Sanitary inspections showed that springs in Ishaka Division posed a much higher risk (66.7%) of bacterial contamination compared to what was observed in Central (58.3%) and Nyakabirizi (58.3%) Divisions. All the sampled water sources were contaminated hence they posed substantial risk to users in the communities. Regular water examination and quality control including microbial assessment of all water sources should be maintained in the three Divisions of the Bushenyi-Ishaka Municipality, Western Uganda.
Highlights
Water is an essential substance to mankind and it influences her social and economic transformations
The main aim of this study was to characterize and identify microscopic isolates as well as identify the possible sources of contamination of spring water used in rural communities in Bushenyi-Ishaka Municipality, Bushenyi District, Western Uganda
The analysis of spring water samples collected from the three Divisions of Bushenyi-Ishaka Municipality indicates that all the water samples had observable viable counts
Summary
Water is an essential substance to mankind and it influences her social and economic transformations. The number of people accessing essential drinking water and sanitation services worldwide has increased from 315 million in the year 2000 to 700 million in 2017constituting a remarkable progress [7] Despite this milestone, 829,000 (60%) diarrhoeal deaths were reported in 2016 due to inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene [8]. Stakeholders in water sectors of respective nations are challenged via the Goal number 6 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 6), to ‘achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030,’ [9] This can be achieved through regular water quality checks to ascertain the bacterial contaminants (mostly Escherichia coli counts) in various water sources use domestically. The main aim of this study was to characterize and identify microscopic isolates as well as identify the possible sources of contamination of spring water used in rural communities in Bushenyi-Ishaka Municipality, Bushenyi District, Western Uganda
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