Microbiological Analysis of Sachet and Tap Water in Enugu State of Nigeria

Martin E. Ohanu, Iniekong P. Udoh, Clara I. Eleazar

Department of Medical Microbiology, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.

DOI: 10.4236/aim.2012.24070                

Abstract

The microbiological quality of sachet and tap water in Enugu,State,Nigeriawas analyzed. Sachet water was purchased from five different manufacturers. Samples Q₁, T₁, R₁, J₁, and M₁ were directly from the manufacturers while samples Q₂, T₂, R₂, J₂, and M₂ were obtained from the retailers. Tap water was collected from three different locations in the town. All water samples were subjected to bacteriological (aerobic and anaerobic) and fungal studies using standard bacteriological and mycological methods with little modifications. For sachet water, batch of five packets both from the manufacturer and retailers were analysed and average result taken. Five separate tap water samples were taken from the three different locations. For sachet water, E. coli and S. faecalis were isolated with colony forming units (CFU) ranging from 7 to >500. For tap water, isolates included Coliform, Cl. sp and Penicillium sp. An average of 66% Clostridium sp was recovered from all the tap water of the 3 different locations. Penicillium sp was isolated from only 16.6% of tap samples. Microbial quality may vary rapidly and widely but short-term peaks in pathogen concentration may increase disease risks considerably and may also trigger outbreaks of waterborne disease.

Keywords

Drinking Water; Pathogens; Microbiological Analysis

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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