Microbiological analysis of domestic water sources in Banda slum of Kampala, Uganda
Loading...
Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development
Abstract
There is scarcity of information about the safety of water in Banda slum of Kampala, Uganda and yet
reports indicate outbreaks of infectious diseases such as typhoid fever and cholera. The aim of this
study was to determine the risk of exposure to waterborne infections by Banda residents due to
faecal contamination of water sources. Four hundred respondents were sampled and interviewed on
the methods of water collection, treatment and storage. Water samples were collected with sterile
glass bottles in duplicate from the dug well, protected spring and piped water system in December
2018 on two different consecutive days. They were transported to the laboratory for total and faecal
coliform count analysis within 2 h using a lightproof-insulated box containing ice-packs. The mean
Escherichia coli count for the dug well was 43 ± 18 c.f.u/mL. The protected spring had no detectable
E. coli, but its total plate count level was 76 ± 1.4 c.f.u/mL. Only 46% of the respondents treated their
drinking water using boiling and filtering methods. Poor sanitation and hygiene practices were
observed. The total and faecal coliform counts of water sources were unsatisfactory making Banda
residents highly at risk of infectious diseases, given the small number of residents that treated water.
Description
Keywords
Banda slum, Domestic water, Microbiological, Uganda
Citation
Isingoma, B. E., & Stephen, K. (2021). Microbiological analysis of domestic water sources in Banda slum of Kampala, Uganda. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, 11(4), 676-686.