Abstract
BackgroundSafe water is essential for life but unsafe for human consumption if it is contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms. An acceptable quality of water supply (adequate, safe and accessible) must be ensured to all human beings for a healthy life.MethodsWe collected and analyzed a total of 12,650 drinking water samples, for the presence of Escherichia coli and faecal coliforms, from a large habitation of the displaced Rohingya population comprising of about 1.16 million people living within 4 km2.ResultsWe found that 28% (n = 893) water samples derived from tubewells were contaminated with faecal coliforms and 10.5% (n = 333) were contaminated with E. coli; also, 73.96% (n = 4644) samples from stored household sources (at point of use—POU) were found contaminated with faecal coliforms while 34.7% (n = 2179) were contaminated with E. coli. It was observed that a higher percentage of POU samples fall in the highest risk category than that of their corresponding sources.ConclusionsFrom our findings, it appears that secondary contamination could be a function of very high population density and could possibly occur during collection, transportation, and storage of water due to lack of knowledge of personal and domestic hygiene. Hence, awareness campaign is necessary, and the contaminated sources should be replaced. Further, the POU water should be treated by a suitable method.
Highlights
An estimated 1.16 million Rohingya people originally displaced from Myanmar have been living in 32 camps in Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh
Point‐of‐use water is far more contaminated than that of its source A total of 3186 tubewells were tested for faecal coliforms and E. coli, and we found that 28% (n = 893) were contaminated with faecal coliforms and 10.5% (n = 333) with E. coli (Fig. 1a)
Other studies showed that POU water(s) are highly contaminated than those of their sources [8, 15]
Summary
An estimated 1.16 million Rohingya people originally displaced from Myanmar have been living in 32 camps in Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh. Arrived Rohingyas are living in spontaneous settlements, and there is an increased demand for humanitarian assistance, including shelter, clean water, and sanitation. A total of 6057 water points and 50,087 emergency latrines have been built to support the needs of inhabitants of the camps. In a challenging hilly terrain of Cox’s Bazar, the unplanned and unprompted way of the settlement of Rohingyas at a very high density has created an unprecedented challenge for water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) needs [1]. Safe water is essential for life but unsafe for human consumption if it is contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms. An acceptable quality of water supply (adequate, safe and accessible) must be ensured to all human beings for a healthy life
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