Ali Akbar, Uzma Sitara,
Shabir Ahmed Khan, Niaz Muhammad, Muhammad Iftikhar Khan, Yasir Hayat Khan, and
Saeed Ur Rehman Kakar, from the institute of Pakistan. wrote a Research article
about, Drinking Water Quality & Disease Risks in Rural Azad Kashmir. Entitled,
Drinking water quality and risk of waterborne diseases in the rural mountainous
area of Azad Kashmir Pakistan. This research paper published by the International Journal of Biosciences | IJB.
Abstract
A study was conducted
to evaluate drinking water safety at three different levels including sources,
system and household in district Bagh, an earthquake affected area of Azad
Jammu and Kashmir Pakistan. Portable water testing kit (Oxfam-DelAgua) was used
for the detection of thermo-tolerant fecal coliform (Escherichia coli). A total
(n=254) number of drinking water samples were examined for the presence of
fecal coliform. It was found that, 68.5% (174 out of 254) of the overall
samples tested were contaminated with Escherichia coli. The 52% (40
out of 77) of the water samples at source level, whereas 69% (58 out of 84) of
water sample collected from system and 71% (66 out of 93) at household level
were found contaminated with Escherichia coli. It was concluded that
unprotected drinking water sources, improper management of waste, vulnerable
sewage and ignorance regarding health and hygiene are the main reason of water
contamination in the area.
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Introduction
Water is an important
component of human body and is the need of life (Muhammad et al., 2012).
Presence of deleterious chemicals and pathogenic microbes can cause a serious
health problem, leading to infections and death (Lima et al., 2005). The
drinking water contaminated with any pathogenic bacteria is unsafe for human consumption
and household use (Muhammad et al., 2012). Access to safe drinking water is not
only the prime need for survival and health but is also basic human rights
(WHO, 2000). Safety of drinking water remains an important public health
concern particularly in emergency situations (Ferretti et al., 2010). Pathogens
that cause diarrheal diseases are being linked with contaminated water
consumption, such pathogens are the main cause of gastrointestinal infections.
The childhood mortality rate due to diarrheal diseases is 2.5 million each year
(Muhammad et al., 2012; Oswald et al., 2007). Each year approximately five
million children die due to the use of unsafe water (Shar et al., 2010).
Approximately 1.8 million kids died in developing countries (excluding china)
caused by biological agents or microorganisms originating from food and water
in year 1998 (Akbar and Anal 2011). Vulnerable and Unsafe drinking water
supplies are contributing in high rate of human morbidity and mortality
worldwide. It has been a national concern in United States of America to
provide safe drinking water since before the 20th century (Sobsey 2006).
Unprotected or protected communal water sources are the key means of potable
water in many developing countries (Gundry et al., 2004; WHO, 2000). It has
been estimated that 1/3 of the total world population use ground water for
drinking purpose (Nickson et al., 2005). Obtaining safe water from a communal
source remains a prime concern of the people in developing countries (Joyce et
al., 1996). Vulnerable sewage and sanitation lines and direct discharge of
waste to natural reservoirs and water bodies are the major cause of fecal
contamination (Huttly, 1990).
A group of bacteria
called coliform are the primary indicator of water pollution. The presence of
these microbes is associated with the presence of disease causing
microorganisms (Muhammad et al., 2013; Shar et al., 2010). Bacteriological
examination of water samples are usually undertaken to estimate the water
quality. Most of the waterborne disease is related to faecal pollution of water
sources. Therefore water microbiology is largely based on the need to identify
indicators of faecal pollution such as Escherichia coli (Barrell et al., 2000).
The detection and enumeration of coliform bacteria for the evaluation of
microbiological drinking water quality has been exist from since 1912 (Bancroft
et al., 1989). Drinking water should be pathogens free and with good
organoleptic characteristics (Nevondo and Cloete, 1999). Contamination of drinking
water during or after the collection from a safe source has been identified as
a problem in rural areas particularly. A vast variety of pathogens are
associated with water to cause severe diseases such as diarrhea, Poliomyelitis
and hepatitis. The microbes such as, Vibrio cholera, Rotavirus, Astrovirus,
Cryptosporidium, Gardia, Entameoba histolytica, Shagella etc are important
pathogens, can cause severe damage to human health associated to unsafe water
(Gundry et al., 2004; Hamer et al., 1998). In developing countries huge
population are suffering from health problems associated with unavailability of
drinking water or contaminated drinking water (Leeuwen, 2000).
In Pakistan it has been
estimated that 40% of all deaths and 30% of all diseases is associated to
unsafe water. Every fifth person suffers from illness due to polluted water. It
has been estimated that three million Pakistanis suffer, while 0.1 million die
from waterborne diseases annually (Haydar et al., 2009). It has been estimated
that 44% of the Pakistani population does not have access to safe drinking
water, while the figures rise to 80 percent in rural area population. Almost
1.1 billion people are lacking adequate access to water, whereas 2.4 billion
people live without ample sanitation (Rosemann, 2005). The objective of this
study was to evaluate and highlight the bacteriological quality of drinking
water at three different levels such as, sources, water supply system and
household and possible exposure to the pathogenic bacteria during daily
consumption of water in the remote mountainous area of Azad Kashmir Pakistan.
Study area The study
conducted in different areas of district Bagh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir Pakistan.
Topography of the study area is mountainous and majority of the people used to
live in small scattered villages dependent on natural springs particularly well
and flowing water channels generally as their primary source of water (drinking
and household use). The area was severely affected by October, 2005 earthquake
(Figure1). In the current study a detail survey regarding the existing drinking
water quality of the area in term of microbiological contamination was
conducted.
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