Bacteriological Analysis of Drinking Water in Zamfara North Senatorial District, Nigeria: Brief Overview | Chapter 4 | Theory and Applications of Microbiology and Biotechnology Vol. 3
Provision of portable drinking water is of public health concern especially in developing countries where this is unavailable. Microbes are ubiquitous and are known to contaminate materials including food and water. Microbial contamination cannot be detected by sight, smell or taste. Basic laboratory tests are the best way to tell if coliform organisms are present as they can be there with no appearance or taste difference. The microbiological quality of drinking water (DW) in Zamfara North Senatorial Zone was examined. A total of 16, two each from each of eight common brands of sachet water in the area were bought from water vendors, and were examined for total bacteria load, total coliform and presence of bacteria species using standard microbiological techniques. The result showed that the total viable count of bacteria in all the samples ranged from 6.0×102 CFU/ml to 4.0×108 CFU/ml. Total coliform was 1.8×107 MPN/100 ml for all the tested samples. The organisms isolated were Pse...