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<p>Globally, waterborne bacterial pathogens cause 3.5&#xa0;million cases of diarrheal diseases, and annual medical expenses of $300&#xa0;million. In Mbale city of Eastern Uganda, such diseases are mostly caused by diarrheal bacteria, but there is limited evidence on which bacterial profiles are prevalent in domestic water sources, complicating interventions. This data deficit was bridged by this research to support the way forward. A Laboratory-based descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted on water samples (<i>N</i> = 260), randomly collected from homesteads and communal water sources. Bacterial analysis was done at Makerere University using conventional culture, gram staining, and biochemical tests using World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05), with STATA version-18.0. Graphs were generated using GraphPad Prism<sup>®</sup> version 9.0.0. The average Total Coliform Counts (TCC), was highest in samples from open water channels (20.61 × 10<sup>2</sup> CFU/mL), Jerricans (17.91 × 10<sup>2</sup> CFU/mL), and open shallow wells (17.20 × 10<sup>2</sup> CFU/mL), but least for taps (0.09 × 10<sup>2</sup> CFU/mL), and boreholes (2.61 × 10<sup>2</sup> CFU/mL). Overall, the unsafe water samples (<i>n</i> = 184, 70.8%) were significantly higher than the safe samples (<i>n</i> = 76, 29.2%) due to non-compliance with WHO Total Bacterial Counts (TBC) and TCC standards (χ<sup>2</sup> = 38.229, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.0001). In total 167 bacterial isolates representing eleven species were obtained from 107 (41.2%) samples, mostly <i>Escherichia coli</i> (<i>n</i> = 47, 28.1%), <i>Klebsiella</i> spp (<i>n</i> = 34, 20.4%), and <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> (<i>n</i> = 32, 19.2%), while the least were <i>Salmonellas</i> spp (<i>n</i> = 12, 11.2%), <i>Bacillus cereus</i> and <i>Acinetobacter</i> spp (<i>n</i> = 1, 0.6% each). The majority of these bacteria were found in samples drawn from Jerricans while the minority were from taps. It was concluded that water consumed by humans in households in Mbale city, does largely not suit international microbial safety standards. Some of the bacteria observed are associated with deadly epidemics like typhoid fever, which are persistent in the study area, warranting concerted interventions including scaling up municipal piping- and household-level water treatment. Clinical Trial registration: Not applicable.</p>

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Evidence of critical bacterial pathogens in household drinking water sources in Mbale City of Eastern Uganda warrants an urgent call to action

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月10日

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  • Abdikarim Salad Elmi,
  • Hussein M. Kafeero,
  • Jamilu E. Ssenku,
  • Nulu Nansikombi,
  • Abukar Mukhtar Omar,
  • Bruhan Kitandwe,
  • Abdul Walusansa

摘要

Globally, waterborne bacterial pathogens cause 3.5 million cases of diarrheal diseases, and annual medical expenses of $300 million. In Mbale city of Eastern Uganda, such diseases are mostly caused by diarrheal bacteria, but there is limited evidence on which bacterial profiles are prevalent in domestic water sources, complicating interventions. This data deficit was bridged by this research to support the way forward. A Laboratory-based descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted on water samples (N = 260), randomly collected from homesteads and communal water sources. Bacterial analysis was done at Makerere University using conventional culture, gram staining, and biochemical tests using World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics (p < 0.05), with STATA version-18.0. Graphs were generated using GraphPad Prism® version 9.0.0. The average Total Coliform Counts (TCC), was highest in samples from open water channels (20.61 × 102 CFU/mL), Jerricans (17.91 × 102 CFU/mL), and open shallow wells (17.20 × 102 CFU/mL), but least for taps (0.09 × 102 CFU/mL), and boreholes (2.61 × 102 CFU/mL). Overall, the unsafe water samples (n = 184, 70.8%) were significantly higher than the safe samples (n = 76, 29.2%) due to non-compliance with WHO Total Bacterial Counts (TBC) and TCC standards (χ2 = 38.229, p < 0.0001). In total 167 bacterial isolates representing eleven species were obtained from 107 (41.2%) samples, mostly Escherichia coli (n = 47, 28.1%), Klebsiella spp (n = 34, 20.4%), and Staphylococcus aureus (n = 32, 19.2%), while the least were Salmonellas spp (n = 12, 11.2%), Bacillus cereus and Acinetobacter spp (n = 1, 0.6% each). The majority of these bacteria were found in samples drawn from Jerricans while the minority were from taps. It was concluded that water consumed by humans in households in Mbale city, does largely not suit international microbial safety standards. Some of the bacteria observed are associated with deadly epidemics like typhoid fever, which are persistent in the study area, warranting concerted interventions including scaling up municipal piping- and household-level water treatment. Clinical Trial registration: Not applicable.