Contamination of Drinking Water and Typhoid Fever Outbreak in Biu Local Government Area, Borno State

Abstract

The present study examined the relationship between contaminated drinking water sources and typhoid fever incidents in four communities in Biu, Local Government Area of Borno State. These communities are, Burantia, Gur, Gunda and Garubula. The study adopted a cross-sectional, comparative and quantitative survey design.Water samples were collected from boreholes and hand-dug wells while hospital records of typhoid incidents were collected from General Hospital Biu, Borno State. Water samples were tested for physical parameters such as pH, Turbidity, temperature, electrical conductivity, and microbial parameters such as enteric bacterial contamination using Salmonella-Shigella Agar (SSA) and Eosin Methylene Blue (EMB) media. Results showed that physical parameters of water samples were within WHO permissible limit for drinking water. However, bacterial contamination indicators revealed higher levels compared to the 0 Colony Forming Units (CFU) per 100 ml. From the analyzed samples, 13 (54.2%) showed presumptive growth on SSA and 17 (70.8%) showed presumptive growth on EMB, with an overall mean colony count of 83.7 CFU/100ml and 77.5 CFU/100ml for SSA and EMB respectively. Specifically, 50% of borehole samples and 58.3% of well samples were positive for SSA, with corresponding mean colony counts of 54.0 and 109.1 CFU/100ml, respectively. The contamination was more pronounced on EMB agar, where 58.3% of borehole samples and a staggering 83.3% of well samples were positive. On the whole, well water exhibiting a higher rate of contamination than borehole water, with a greater percentage of positive samples on both media (58.3% vs. 50.0% on SSA and 83.3% vs. 58.3% on EMB). The mean colony counts for well water were also higher on SSA (109.1 CFU/100ml) and EMB (81.2 CFU/100ml). Findings also showed that cases of typhoid cases (adults and children) were highest in September (14.9%) corresponding with rainfall peak. Based on these results we concluded that there is systemic microbial and fecal contamination of drinking water sources in the area. On-site sanitation facilities, e.g., pit latrines and unlined wastewater drains, are likely the most common sources of fecal contamination of groundwater in the area. Water abstracted from boreholes and hand-dug wells needs to be treated before use for consumption purposes. More so, efforts should be made to delineate protected areas around groundwater abstraction points to minimize contamination from point sources of pollution.