Bacteriological Analysis of Drinking Water in Zamfara North Senatorial District, Nigeria: Brief Overview

Provision of portable drinking water is of public health concern especially in developing countries
where this is unavailable. Microbes are ubiquitous and are known to contaminate materials including
food and water. Microbial contamination cannot be detected by sight, smell or taste. Basic laboratory
tests are the best way to tell if coliform organisms are present as they can be there with no
appearance or taste difference. The microbiological quality of drinking water (DW) in Zamfara North
Senatorial Zone was examined. A total of 16, two each from each of eight common brands of sachet
water in the area were bought from water vendors, and were examined for total bacteria load, total
coliform and presence of bacteria species using standard microbiological techniques. The result
showed that the total viable count of bacteria in all the samples ranged from 6.0×102 CFU/ml to
4.0×108 CFU/ml. Total coliform was 1.8×107 MPN/100 ml for all the tested samples. The organisms
isolated were Pseudomonas maltophila, Escherichia coli, Citrobacter freundii, Pseudomonas
pseudomollia, Salmonella typhi, Shigella species, and Pseudomonas dimineta. Prevalence of different
isolates revealed that Pseudomonas, C. freundii, S. typhi and E. coli were predominant in comparison
to Shigella species. The present study revealed that the microbial quality often exceed World Health
Organization (WHO) and Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) allowable limit of 1.0x102 CFU/ml
for potable water and Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) maximum permissible level of 10
CFU/ml (total coliform) and 0 CFU/100 ml. The high microbial isolates and load may have
contaminated the water from the environment. These microbes found in the drinking water sources
are known to cause several diseases. Present study indicate that water testing would ensure the
supply and availability of contamination-free drinking water; and awareness amongst people towards
sanitation and hygienic conditions for storage of drinking water is needed to keep away the use of
contaminated water. The present study suggests that drinking water sources should be properly
treated prior to consumption using appropriate methods; so as to reduce the occurrence of
waterborne diseases.