Sources of microbiological contamination in sachet water from Ghana

Aslan, Aslı; Rochani, Haresh; Oyibo, Oghenekpaobor; Dotherow, J. Edward; Anderson, Kendall; Beslin, Christina J; Chapman, Asheley; Thomas, Brittny; Brown, Alicia; Ampofo-Yeboah, Akwasi; Afriyie-Gyawu, Evans

doi:10.2166/washdev.2020.112

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…It is underground water that has been further treated and is thus considered safe. Nevertheless, both physico-chemical and bacterial contamination in sachet water have been reported in Ghana [45,46]. The present study did not assess physicochemical and bacterial contamination of drinking water either from the source or from storage containers.…”

Section: Plos Watermentioning

confidence: 84%

An assessment of the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) situation in rural Volta Region, Ghana

Osarfo,

Ampofo,

Arhin

et al. 2023

PLOS Water

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Access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is a fundamental human right. However, inadequate and unequal access prevail in resource-poor settings and contribute to morbidity/mortality from diarrhoeal and other diseases. WASH-related access has improved in some districts in Ghana but little is known about the situation in many other parts. The WASH situation in two rural districts of the Volta Region was assessed to help identify specific areas for support in a cross-sectional study. Seven hundred and twenty (720) households were randomly selected and their household heads or representatives interviewed using a structured questionnaire in the Ho West and Adaklu districts. Data were collected on respondents’ demographic characteristics including education level, household characteristics including type of toilet facility and sources of water, 2-week prevalence of symptoms of water-borne diseases and handwashing practices. Summary statistics were conducted and Chi-square analysis done for association between selected variables. Results with a p-value of <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Almost all households (97.9%, 706/720) had access to improved water sources with piped water and sachet water being the most common. Also, 73.3% (526/718) of respondents had access to improved sanitation facilities but many of these were shared. A third of respondents (33.4%, 240/718) practiced open defecation. Significant differences existed between the Ho West and Adaklu districts regarding use of improved toilet facilities (92.1% vs 50.5%; p<0.001), in-house location of toilet facilities (51.2% vs 41.9%; p = 0.013) and in-house water sources (32.4% vs 13.5%; p<0.001). Up to 95% (679/718) of respondents indicated that they washed their hands with soap and water after using the toilet, before cooking and on arrival home from outside but these were suspected to be influenced by COVID-19 risk perceptions. Households need support to own toilet facilities in adequate numbers for household sizes. This would assist in minimizing open defecation.

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Section: Plos Watermentioning

confidence: 84%

An assessment of the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) situation in rural Volta Region, Ghana

Osarfo,

Ampofo,

Arhin

et al. 2023

PLOS Water

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“…Earlier studies in Ghana and Nigeria have variously indicated sachet water to be contaminated with faecal coliform and other pathogenic bacteria and not wholesome [29][30][31]. Semey, Dotse-Gborgbortsi [32] explained in their study that the contamination might be due to the unhygienic handling by factory workers during production.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Dzodzomenyo, Fink [33] have further indicated that some of the sachet water companies are not formally registered by the Food and Drug Authority and might be violating the guidelines of the standard for quality water production. It is therefore not surprising that Aslan, Rochani [29] study which examined the sachet bag observed some bags not to have a batch number, date of manufacture and no information on treatment. This is worrisome as the shift to drinking sachet water might not necessarily be protective against cholera.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Dongdem,

Sarfo,

Addo-Lartey

et al. 2023

Preprint

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BackgroundThe 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 microbiological quality of household drinking water in both cholera endemic and non-endemic areas in Greater Accra Region.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted among 432 randomly selected households. A total of 432 water samples were collected in both the wet and dry seasons from the households and an additional 48 from other water sources within the area studied. The membrane filtration technique was used for the quantification of total coliform counts, faecal 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.ResultsHousehold drinking water samples were contaminated with coliform counts exceeding the recommended zero colony-forming units per 100 ml standard in most communities across the cholera endemic and non-endemic areas. Vibrio counts were detected in all household water stored in vessels. Further characterization identified predominantly Klebsiella penumoniae 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.ConclusionThe household stored drinking and direct source water were highly contaminated with coliform bacteria and a risk for transmission of pathogenic waterborne diseases. Therefore, the need to implement an effective water treatment strategy to improve on the quality of drinking water.

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“…The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that at least two billion people drink fecal-contaminated water containing pathogens, associated with 485,000 diarrheal deaths each year, most of them infants (WHO 2019). These health hazards posed by pathogen-contaminated water are severe, especially in rural areas of developing countries (WHO 2019); even commercial sachet water sometimes contains pathogens (Aslan et al 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new tool for disinfecting household drinking water for rural residents: protonated mordenite-embedded sheet

Johan

Fernando

Sadia

et al. 2022

Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development

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Many rural residents in developing countries drink water contaminated with feces due to inadequate purification, causing many diarrheal deaths, most of them infants. We have fabricated a protonated (H+-retaining) mordenite-embedded non-woven fabric sheet (H-MES) as a new tool for disinfecting drinking water at home. Proton retention amount was 1.2 mmol per gram of mordenite, 75% of its cation-exchange capacity. The H-MES released protons through cation exchange with cations in aqueous solutions, lowering the pH of the solutions to below 4. This low pH led to disinfecting 100 mL of 100-fold diluted TSB solutions containing an Escherichia coli species (DH5α). For example, an initial viable count of around 5,000 CFU mL−1 decreased to 14 CFU mL−1 after 24 h shaking at 25 °C with added H-MES containing 0.2 g protonated mordenite; 3.8×107 CFU mL−1 without the H-MES. Adding a nitric acid solution showed a similar effect, but using chemical reagents at home might lead to unexpected accidents. Adding and removing the H-MES to and from household waterpots by hand is easy. Besides the H-MES, similar sheets embedded with bactericides and bacterial adsorbents could be a simple water-disinfection tool for rural residents.

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Sources of microbiological contamination in sachet water from Ghana

Cited by 9 publications

References 26 publications

An assessment of the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) situation in rural Volta Region, Ghana

An assessment of the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) situation in rural Volta Region, Ghana

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

A new tool for disinfecting household drinking water for rural residents: protonated mordenite-embedded sheet

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