Waterborne diseases transmission potential of sachet waters sold in

Owerri, Eastern Nigeria

Keywords:
Sachet water, public health, waterborne diseases, post production quality,
quality standards .
ABSTRACT:

The monitoring of packaged water quality in Nigeria should not stop
production but extended to post production quality assurance to ensure prevention
of public health consequences associated with sachet water contamination. Triplicate
samples of some locally available sachet waters were collected randomly from
markets in Owerri and subjected to standard microbiological analysis. Sachet water
samples analysed include samples from Agad, God is able, Davimor, Linkmor and Mr
Ben branded products. The Total Heterotrophic Bacterial Count (THBC) counts ranged
between 2.0x10
2
to 1.0x101 cfu/ml while the Total Coliform Bacterial Count (TCBC)
count ranged between

1.2x10
0
to 0

cfu/ml. Highest growth was recorded in Davimor
while the lowest was in Agad. The isolates occurred thus: Pseudomonas aeruginosa,
Salmonella typhi and Shigella dysenteriae in Davimor; Bacillus subtilis, Salmonella
typhi and Shigella dysenteriae in Linkmor and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus
subtilis, Salmonella typhi and Shigella dysenteriae in Mr Ben samples; Pseudomonas
aeruginosa and Bacillus subtilis both in Agad and God is able samples. The counts
were below the Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL) for drinking water. The sachet
water samples have potable water quality. Salmonella typhi is responsible for two
types of salmonellosis: typhoid fever and gastroenteritis. Shigella dysenteriae in
samples implied possible risk of outbreak of shigellosis. Pseudomonas aeruginosa and
Bacillus subtilis might be responsible for degradation of packaging material and
production of odor and taste compounds. Post production quality analysis should be
routinely carried on sachet waters in the market to prevent and control waterborne
bacterial diseases.
001-006 | JRPH | 2012 | Vol 1 | No 1
This article is governed by the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/2.0), which gives permission for unrestricted use, non-commercial, distribution, and
reproduction in all medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
www.jhealth.info
Journal of Research in
Public Health
An International
Scientific Research Journal
Authors:
Ihejirika OC
1
, Ihejirika
CE
2
, Nwachukwu MI
3
,
Ebe TE
2
and Uzoka CN
2
.



Institution:
1.Department of Public
Health, Federal University of
Technology, Owerri, +234,
Nigeria.

2.Department of
Environmental Technology,
Federal University of
Technology, Owerri, +234,
Nigeria.

3.Department of
Microbiology, Imo State
University, Owerri, +234,
Nigeria.



Corresponding author:
Ihejirika OC.




Email:
nachiihejirika@yahoo.com



Phone No:
234-8033917824



Web Address:
http://www.jhealth.info/
documents/PH0002.pdf.


Dates:
Received: 08 Dec 2011 /Accepted: 18 Dec 2011 /Published: 19 Jan 2012
Article Citation:
Ihejirika OC, Ihejirika CE, Nwachukwu MI, Ebe TE and Uzoka CN.
Waterborne diseases transmission potential of sachet waters sold in
Owerri, Eastern Nigeria.
Journal of Research in Public Health (2012) 1: 001-006
Original Research Paper
Journal of Research in Public Health
J
o
u
r
n
a
l

o
f

R
e
s
e
a
r
c
h

i
n

P
u
b
l
i
c

H
e
a
l
t
h

An International Scientific Research Journal


INTRODUCTION
The sale and consumption of packaged water
continues to grow rapidly in most countries of the
world. In Nigeria particularly, there is an
astronomical increase in the consumption of
packaged waters especially bottled and sachet
drinking water. The increased demand for these
drinking water products is attributed largely to
factors such as inadequate or non availability of
reliable, safe municipal water in urban areas;
impression that high quality natural spring water
and drinking water offer a healthy, refreshing and
great tasting alternative to high calorie soft drinks
and ordinary tap water; and convenience which has
made the products meet the requirements of any
lifestyle when needed (Gardner, 2004).
The sachet drinking water was introduced
into the Nigerian market as a less expensive means
of accessing drinking water than bottled water
(Ogundipe, 2008). It also acts as an improvement
over the former types of drinking water packaged
for sale to consumers in hand filled, hand tied
polythene bags. Today, the easy accessibility to
drinking water in packaged forms has resulted in a
big and thriving water industry with several
hundreds of million litres of these water products
consumed every year by Nigerians (Ogundipe,
2008).
Several studies on the microbial quality of
bottled and sachet water have reported violations of
international quality standards. In a Canadian study,
screening of bottled water for indicator bacteria
revealed that 3.7% of the samples had total
coliforms and 23.3% of the 3460 samples had more
than 100 colonies of heterotrophic bacteria per ml
of sample (Warburton et al., 1998). A similar study
of brands of bottled water in Trinidad showed that
18 out of the 344 samples checked revealed the
presence of total coliforms while five of the
samples had Escherichia coli and colonies of
Enterococcus faecalis were occasionally detected in
the samples (Bharath et al., 2003). The quality
monitoring of sachet water in Nigeria has been
documented (Adekunle et al., 2004; Onifade et al.,
2008; Dada, 2009). However, there is little
information in scientific literatures on the quality of
the many brands of sachet water produced and
marketed by local companies.
Water borne diseases continue to be one of
the major health problems especially in developing
nations. The high prevalence of diseases such as
typhoid fever, diarrheal diseases such as cholera
and bacillary dysentery among the populace has
been traced to the consumption of unsafe water and
unhygienic drinking water production practices
(Mead et al., 1999). The most dangerous form of
water pollution occurs when faecal contaminants
enter the water supply. Pathogenes such as
Salmonella species, Shigella species, Vibrio
cholerae and E. coli being shed in human and
animal faeces ultimately find their way into water
supply through seepage of improperly treated
sewage into ground water (DiPaola, 1998).
In Nigeria, the National Agency for Food
and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC)
is the parastatal under the Federal Ministry of
Health, charged with the responsibility for the
regulation and control of imported and locally
processed foods and water products (Omotayo et
al., 2002). To ensure strict adherence to
international standards, NAFDACs regulation for
bottled and sachet-packed water in Nigeria has been
put at the standards established by the World Health
Organization (WHO). According to these standards,
potable water for human consumption must be free
of microbial indicators of faecal contamination and
coliform count per 100 ml of drinking water must
be zero (World Health Organization, 1997; Pierre,
1999).
Owerri metropolis is a highly urbanized area
in South Eastern Nigeria where several brands of
bottled and sachet water are vended to the public.
The continuous proliferation of these packaged
water products and their indiscriminate
consumption are of public health significance. An
understanding of their microbiological quality and
safety are therefore imperative (Drinking Water
Research Foundation, 2004). This study therefore
aims at providing information for the safety of
packaged drinking water marketed in selected areas
of Owerri, Nigeria by determining the
bacteriological quality of several of the brands. This
will give an understanding of the extent to which
the products meet the standards and
recommendations of the World Health Organization
(WHO).

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Study area:
The study area was Owerri Municipal in Imo
State, comprising of Umuororonjo, Umuonyeche,
Umuodu, Umuoyima and Amawom villages.
Sample collection:
Samples from five sachet water companies
namely: Agad, God is able, Davimor, Linkmor and
Mr Ben were collected randomly triplicates from
Ihejirika et al.,2012
002 Journal of Research in Public Health (2012) 1: 001-006
markets and immediately transported to the
laboratory for microbiological analysis.
Microbiological analysis:
Sterilization of media was carried out by
moist heat sterilization method using autoclave at
121
0
C, 15psi and for 15 minutes. Heat stable
materials were sterilized using hot air oven at 160
0
C
for 1 hour as described by Cruickshank et al.
(1982). Heat labile materials were aseptically
rinsed with alcohol and distilled water. The media
used include Nutrient agar, MacConkey agar, Eosin
Methyline Blue agar, TCBS, and Salmonella
Shigella agar. All media were prepared as directed
by the manufacturer. Spread plates of samples were
incubated at 37
0
C for 24 hours for heterotrophic
bacterial count (THBC) while total coliform
bacterial count (TCBC) were determined after
incubation at 45
0
C for 24 hours in MacConkey
agar. Identification of isolates was based on the
scheme described by Cheesbrough (1984).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Result:
The result of Total Heterotrophic Bacterial
Count (THBC) and Total Coliform Bacterial Count
(TCBC) (cfu/ml) are as shown in Table1. Sachet
water samples include samples Agad, God is able,
Davimor, Linkmor and Mr Ben. The THBC counts
ranged between 2.0x10
2
to 1.0x10
1
while the TCBC
count ranged between

1.2x10
0
to 0

cfu/ml. Highest
growth was recorded in Davimor while the lowest
was in Agad. There were no growths on
MacConkey agar, Eosin Methyline Blue agar,
TCBS, and Salmonella Shigella agar media for
Agad and God is able samples; while there were
growths on MacConkey and Salmonella Shigella
agars for Davimor, Linkmor and Mr Ben samples.

Table 2 shows the morphological
characteristics and biochemical reactions of bacteria
isolates from the sachet water samples. Table 3
shows the bacterial isolates in Sachet water
samples. The isolates occurred thus: Pseudomonas
spp., Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp. were
present in Davimor; Bacillus spp., Salmonella spp.
and Shigella spp. in Linkmor and Pseudomonas
spp., Bacillus spp., Salmonella spp. and Shigella
spp. in Mr Ben samples; Pseudomonas spp. and
Bacillus spp. both in Agad and God is able samples.

DISCUSSION:
The prevalence of water related diseases in
developing countries is determined by the quality of
their drinking water. The safety of drinking water in
poor and deprived communities has been in
jeopardy as a result of wanton introduction of
refuse and sewage into sources of water supply. The
introduction of the sachet drinking water in the
Nigerian market was a laudable idea but studies
suggest that this innovative idea is not risk free
(Obiri-Danso et al., 2003).
The coliform test is a reliable indicator of
the possible presence of fecal contamination and is,
consequently, correlated with pathogens. The
USEPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) is
less than one coliform per 100ml (USEPA, 2003).
The Total Heterotrophic Bacteria Count (THBC)
test also called total count or plate count,
provided an estimate of the total number of bacteria
in a sample that will develop into colonies during a
period of incubation in a nutrient. This test detected
a broad group of bacteria including pathogens, and
opportunistic pathogens, but it does not pretend to
report all of the bacteria in the water sample
examined. THBC may be an indicator of poor
general biological quality of the sachet water
samples. This corroborates the report of USEPA
(2003).
Health agencies like the USEPA and World
Health Organization (WHO) have avoided setting
standards for plate counts possibly for the lack of
pathogenicity and great variation in density,
encountered (Dezuane, 1990). A recommended
MCL for human drinking water has not yet been
proposed, but the USEPA does recognize the water
quality deterioration implied by high plate counts.
The upper limit for portable water is usually
500cfu/ml. Dezuane (1990) says that water with
counts under 100cfu/ml should be considered
potable and values 100-500/ml questionable.
Ihejirika et al.,2012
Journal of Research in Public Health (2012) 1: 001-006 003
Sachet water brands THBC TCBC
Agad 1.0x10
1
-
God is able 1.2x10
1
-
Davimor 2.0x10
2
1.0x10
0

Linkmor 1.4x10
1
1.2x10
0

Mr Ben 1.1x10
2
1.0x10
0

Table 1: Bacterial Count (cfu/ml) of sachet water
samples
Total Heterotrophic Bacterial Count = THBC
Total Coliform Bacterial Count = TCBC
Nil = -


Therefore the sachet water samples have potable
water quality. Though earlier investigations
conducted on the safety of drinking water has
shown that the quality of some factory bagged
sachet and hand-filled/hand-tied polythene-bagged
drinking water was noted to be doubtful (Obiri-
Danso et al., 2003). This observation was based on
studies carried out on water samples to ascertain the
presence of heterotrophic bacteria, indicators of
faecal contamination (total coliforms, faecal
coliforms and enterococci).
Several factors potentially might have
accounted for this observation, notable among these
are; improper processing and purification
procedures, unhygienic handling after production,
the small size of the pathogens which enable them
to escape filtration and the resistance of these
pathogens to physical water treatment agents and
disinfectants (Cotte et al., 1999).
The presence of Salmonella typhi in the
samples might be due to contamination from
handlers and sellers of the sachet waters.
Salmonella typhi is responsible for two types of
salmonellosis: (1) Typhoid fever; (2) gastroenteritis
(Le Minor, 2003).
The association of Shigella dysenteriae with
sachet water samples is implicative of possible fecal
contamination. This is in agreement with the
reports and works of WHO (2008). The implication
of the presence of Shigella dysenteriae in samples
is the risk of possible outbreak of shigellosis. This
is in agreement with the report of Emch et al.
(2008).
Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been isolated
from many environments (Prescott et al., 2005).
Furthermore, their presence in samples might be
due to their exceptional ability to degrade wide
Ihejirika et al.,2012
004 Journal of Research in Public Health (2012) 1: 001-006
Isolates / Samples A B C D E
Pseudomonas aeruginosa + + + - +
Salmonella typhi - - + + +
Shigella dysenteriae - - + + +
Bacillus subtilis + + - + +
Present = +, Absent = -
A=Agad, B=God is able, C=Davimor, D =Linkmor,
E =Mr Ben
Table 3: Occurrence of bacterial isolates from
sachet water samples
Table 2: Morphological and Biochemical Reactions of Bacteria Isolates
Key + = Positive - = Negative
2
Milkish coloured,
round edge convex
colonies
Rod -ve + + - -
-
-
- + - + + + + +
Salmonella
typhi
3
Smooth colourless
circular colonies,
which is opaque with
the entire margin
Rod -ve +
-

-

-

+

-

-

-

+

-

-

+

-

Shigella
dysenteriae

9
Large round thick
opaque colonies with
dull irregular edges
Rod +ve - - - - - - + + - + + + +
Bacillus
subtilis
10
Large round swarmy,
fluorescent colonies
with irregular edges
Rod -ve + - + + + + + + - - - - -
Pseudomonas
aeruginosa

GROWTH
MORPHOLOGY
BOICHEMICAL TESTS SUGARS

S
H
A
P
E

G
R
A
M

M
O
T
I
L
I
T
Y

G
E
L
A
T
I
N

H
Y
D
R
L
Y
S
I
S

C
I
T
R
A
T
E

I
N
D
O
L
E

O
X
I
D
A
S
E

U
R
E
A
S
E

H
2
S

G
L
U
C
O
S
E

M
A
L
T
O
S
E

M
A
N
I
T
O
L

L
A
C
T
O
S
E

P
R
O
B
A
B
L
E

I
S
O
L
A
T
E
D

V
P

M
R

variety of compounds. Pseudomonas aeruginosa
and Bacillus cereus have been isolated as
waterborne pathogens (Ichijo et al., 2010).
Bacillus subtilis has been associated with
different of the environments. Its isolation from the
samples might imply contamination from
contaminated environment especially during
storage.

CONCLUSION
Some the sachet water samples were found
to be contaminated with enteric pathogens while
others though contaminated by other organisms
generally indicated the sachet waters from Owerri
were not devoid of bacteria. Though the counts
were below established standards, proper treatment
of the water before packaging and sterilization of
packaging materials are recommended. Post
production monitoring of sachet water quality
should be intensified to prevent waterborne disease
outbreak.

REFERENCES
Adekunle LV, Sridhar MKC, Ajayi AA,
Oluwande PA and Olawuyi JF. 2004. An
Assessment of health and social economic
implications of sachet water in Ibadan: A public
health challenge. Afr. J. Biomed. Res., 7:5-8.

Bharath J, Mosodeen M, Motilal S, Sandy S,
Sharma S, Tessaro T, Thomas K,
Umamaheswaram M, Simeon D and Adesiyan
AA. 2003. Microbiological quality of domestic and
imported brands of bottled water in Trinidad. Int. J.
Food Microbiol., 81:53-62.

Cheesbrough M. 1984. Medical Laboratory
Manual for Tropical Countries. Butterworth Co.
Ltd.

Cotte L, Rabodonirima M, Chapuis F and
Bissuel F. 1999. Water outbreak of Intestinal
Microsporidiosis in persons with or without Human
immunodeficiency virus infection. J. Infect. Dis.,
180:2003-2008.

Cruickshank R, Dugauid JP, Marmoin BP and
Swain RHA. 1982. Medical Microbiology. The
practice of Medical Microbiology 13
th
ed. Churchill
Livingstone, Edinburgh. 2:273-284.

Dada AC. 2009. Sachet Water Phenomenon in
Nigeria: Assessment of the potential Health
impacts. Afr. J. Microbiol. Res., 3(1):15-21.

DeZuane J. 1990. Handbook of Drinking Water
Quality Standard and Controls, Van Nostrand
Reinhold, New York.

DiPaola TS. 1998. Biological and Chemical
Renovation of Wastewater with a soil infilterator
Low-Pressure distribution System. Virginia Tech.
University press. Virginia.

Drinking Water Research Foundation. 2004.
Recent Developments in Bottled Water Quality and
Safety Documentary Report. Alexandria V.A., c1-9.

Emch M, Ali M and Yunus M. 2008. Risk areas
and Neighborhood- Level Risk Factors for Shigella
dysenteriae 1and Shigella flexneri. Healt. Place.
14:96-104.

Gardner VT. 2004. Bottled Water; Frequently
Asked Questions. International Bottled Water
Association, IBWA New 12(5):3.

Ichijo T, Yamaguchi N, Tani K and Nasu M.
2010.Oligonucleotide. Probes for phylogenetic
detection of waterborne bacteria. Journal of Health
Science. 56 (3):321-325.

Le Minor LE. 2003. In the prokaryotes: An
Evolving Electronic Resource for the
Microbiological Community, electronic release
3.14, 3
rd
ed.; Dworkin, M., Falkow, S., Rosenberg,
E., Eds.; Springer- Verlag: New York, NY, USA.

Mead AM, Helm G, Callan P and Atlas RM.
1999. A prospective study of drinking water quality
and gastrointestinal diseases. New Eng. J. Med.,
245(9):224-248.

Obiri-Danso K, Okore-Hanson A and Jones K.
2003. The Microbiological quality of drinking
water sold on the streets of Kumasi, Ghana. Lttr
Appl Microbiol., 37(4):334.

Ogundipe S. 2008. Safe Water: So near, yet so far.
Vanguard Newspapers (Home Ed.) Section C:15
(Col. 9 and 10). Saturday September 13.

Omotayo RK and Denloye SA. 2002. The
Nigerian Experience on Food Safety Regulations.
Ihejirika et al.,2012
Journal of Research in Public Health (2012) 1: 001-006 005


Conference Room Document Report.

Onifade AK and Ilori RM. 2008. Microbiological
Analysis of Sachet Water Vended in Ondo State,
Nigeria. Environ. Res. J., 2(3):107-110.

Pierre P. 1999. Poor efficacy of residual chlorine
disinfectant in drinking water to inactivate water-
borne pathogens in distribution systems. Canadian
J. Microbiol., 45(8):709-715.

Prescott LM, Harley JP and Klein DA. 2005.
Microbiology. 6
th
edition. McGraw Hill.
USEPA (United States Environmental
Protection Agency). 2003. Drinking Water Quality
Standards. Edstrom Industries, Waterford,
Wisconsin.

Warburton D, Harrison B, Crawford C, Foster
R, Fox C, Gour L and Krol P. 1998. A further
review of microbiological quality of bottled water
sold in Canada: 1992-1997 survey results. Int. J.
Food Microbiol., 39:221-226.

WHO (World Health Organization). 2008.
Guidel ine for drinkingwat er qual i t y.
Incorporat i ng 1st and 2
nd
Addenda,
Recommendations, 3
rd
ed; WHO: Geneva,
Switzerland. Volume 1.

WHO (World Health Organization). 1997.
W.H.O. Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality.
Expert Committee on International Standard for
Drinking Water, Geneva 27, Switzerland.
Ihejirika et al.,2012
006 Journal of Research in Public Health (2012) 1: 001-006
Submit your articles online at jhealth.info

Advantages
Easy online submission
Complete Peer review
Affordable Charges
Quick processing
Extensive indexing
You retains your copyright


submit@jhealth.info

www.jhealth.info/submit.php.