40. Health risk attributed to poor microbial quality of drinking water from rural area of Peshawar, Pakistan
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Abstract
Waterborne diseases caused by potentially fatal microorganism is a major public health concern and impart severe health consequences in form of morbidity while severe cases lead to mortality. The current study aims to determine the microbiological quality of drinking water from the rural area of Peshawar Pakistan. A total of 600 samples were collected from budhni, chamkani and muslim town in 2018. This cross-sectional was approved by the National Institute of health and management sciences Peshawar. A sterile water container was used for a sample collection from both tap water and hand pump by adapting standard microbiological practices. Out of 600 samples, 275 (45.7%) samples were positive for potential microorganisms including Salmonella (15%), Shagella (32.8%), and E. coli (11.7%) respectively. A significant number of growth of Shigella, Salmonella and E. coli from a source of hand pump were observed in comparison to tap water. The presence of potential fatal microorganisms indicates poor quality of drinking water in the study setting which impart severe health consequences. Public health measures are required for reducing the prevalence of waterborne diseases in such areas.
Keywords: Contamination; Drinking water; Public health; Water borne diseases