Abstract
Members of the Vibrio genus are autochthonous inhabitants of aquatic environments and play vital roles in sustaining the aquatic milieu. The genus comprises about 100 species, which are mostly of marine or freshwater origin, and their classification is frequently updated due to the continuous discovery of novel species. The main route of transmission of Vibrio pathogens to man is through drinking of contaminated water and consumption inadequately cooked aquatic food products. In sub-Saharan Africa and much of the developing world, some rural dwellers use freshwater resources such as rivers for domestic activities, bathing, and cultural and religious purposes. This review describes the impact of inadequately treated sewage effluents on the receiving freshwater resources and the associated risk to the rural dwellers that depends on the water. Vibrio infections remain a threat to public health. In the last decade, Vibrio disease outbreaks have created alertness on the personal, economic, and public health uncertainties associated with the impact of contaminated water in the aquatic environment of sub-Saharan Africa. In this review, we carried out an overview of Vibrio pathogens in rural water resources in Sub-Saharan Africa and the implication of Vibrio pathogens on public health. Continuous monitoring of Vibrio pathogens among environmental freshwater and treated effluents is expected to help reduce the risk associated with the early detection of sources of infection, and also aid our understanding of the natural ecology and evolution of Vibrio pathogens.
Highlights
Freshwater bodies serve as the main water resources in rural areas used for drinking, cooking, and irrigation for agriculture in most communities that have little or no access to potable, safe water.They become polluted as a result of fast population growth, land development along river banks, and urbanization [1]
The concerns about public health risks from Vibrio pathogens, most especially when rural waters, wastewater effluents, and mishandled sea products remain the means of transmission of Vibrio species infections, are expected to remain in the future
There has been an emergence of at least one new pathogenic Vibrio species which could be transferred through the environment as a new public health menace
Summary
Freshwater bodies serve as the main water resources in rural areas used for drinking, cooking, and irrigation for agriculture in most communities that have little or no access to potable, safe water. Despite recent advances in water quality and wastewater treatments, waterborne diseases still pose a major threat to public health worldwide [7] As these receiving water bodies are the only available sources of potable water, their contamination has resulted in many waterborne diseases such as diarrhoea, gastroenteritis, and cholera in children, adults, and refugees in various developing countries such as Nigeria, Rwanda, Congo, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Afghanistan, Chile, and Brazil [8]. Dozens of known species have been estimated to establish disease conditions in humans [13,14] They are usually linked to eruptions of Vibrio infections as a result of consuming undercooked seafood and water contaminated with sewage or the exposure of skin wounds to aquatic environments and animals [15,16,17]. We carried out an overview of pathogenic Vibrio species in rural water resources of Sub-Saharan Africa and its implications on public health
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