Bacteriological quality of household drinking water and cholera risk in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana.

Abstract

Introduction: the bacteriological quality of drinking water plays a critical role in preventing waterborne diseases. In Ghana, there is water scarcity and many communities depend on contaminated water sources for their domestic use. This study aimed to assess the bacteriological quality of household drinking water in both cholera endemic and non-endemic areas in Greater Accra Region.

Methods: a community-based cross-sectional comparative survey in cholera endemic and non-endemic communities was conducted. A total of 480 drinking water samples were collected. The membrane filtration technique was used for the quantification of coliform counts and Vibrio counts. The bacteria were further identified and characterized. The Kruskal Wallis rank test was used to determine any significant variations in the means of the log-transformed bacteria counts among specific factor variables.

Results: drinking water samples were contaminated with coliform counts exceeding the zero colony-forming units per 100 ml standard in most communities across cholera endemic and non-endemic areas. Vibrio counts were detected in all household water stored in vessels. Further characterization identified predominantly Klebsiella pneumonia and Escherichia coli. The coliform contamination levels were significantly higher in water stored in vessels compared to water directly obtained from the source. The contamination levels were generally higher during the wet season than the dry season.

Conclusion: the household's stored drinking water and direct water sources were highly contaminated with coliform bacteria, posing a significant risk for the transmission of pathogenic waterborne diseases. Therefore, the need to implement an effective water treatment strategy to improve the quality of drinking water.