Abstract
Fifteen outdoor public swimming pools in Awka, Nigeria were assessed bacteriologically before and after use by bathers to determine their suitability for bathing purposes. The total bacterial, total coliform, faecal coliform, Staphylococcal and Pseudomonas counts were carried out using standard methods. The total bacterial count before and after use respectively was 10-160 cfu/ml and 100-280 cfu/ml; total coliform count, 3-87 cfu/100ml and 40-120 cfu/100ml; Staphylococcal count, 0-70 cfu/ml and 0-169 cfu/ml while faecal coliforms and Pseudomonas were not detected in the samples. The bacteria were identified as <i>klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, klebsiella oxytoca, Enterobacter cloacae, Citrobacter freundii, Salmonella typhi, Bacillus licheniformis Staphylococcus aureus</i> and <i>Staphylococcus epidermidis. Klebsiella pneumoniae</i> was detected in majority of the samples before and after use while <i>Bacillus licheniformis, Citrobacter freundii and Salmonella typhi</i> were each detected in one sample only before and after use. <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i> also had the highest occurence of 25.0% and 17.1% before and after use while <i>Bacillus licheniformis</i> had the lowest occurrence of 4.8% and 7.3% before and after use. None of the pools met the World Health Organization standard for coliforms therefore adequate and frequent treatment as well as regular bacteriological analyses of such pools are recommended.
Highlights
The first step in providing a safe swimming environment is to provide healthy swimming pools as well as a swimming pool environment free from bacteria
Adequate knowledge of the bacteriological quality of swimming pools is imperative to guide their safety for use, minimize the spread of contagious diseases and determine the effectiveness of the pools treatment processes, in this study, the bacteriological quality of outdoor public swimming pools in Awka, Nigeria was assessed
The heterotrophic plate count was 107-208 cfu/ml; total coliform count, 38-120 cfu/100ml; Staphylococcal count, 0-169 cfu/ml while the faecal coliforms and Pseudomonas were not isolated from the samples
Summary
The first step in providing a safe swimming environment is to provide healthy swimming pools as well as a swimming pool environment free from bacteria This type of policy protects the swimmers and prevents them from contracting communicable infectious diseases. There have been many reported cases of infectious diseases caused by the in advertent swallowing of swimming pool water that was contaminated with bacteria while swimming [2]. Despite the fact that this bacterium is not considered a major threat and plays no direct role in producing infections in humans, should not be ignored when checking the water quality of swimming pools [1]. Adequate knowledge of the bacteriological quality of swimming pools is imperative to guide their safety for use, minimize the spread of contagious diseases and determine the effectiveness of the pools treatment processes, in this study, the bacteriological quality of outdoor public swimming pools in Awka, Nigeria was assessed
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