EPIDEMIOLOGICAL SURVEY OF WATER BORNE PROTOZOA IN DRINKING WATER AND THE CORRELATION WITH FAECAL COLIFORMS AND CLOSTRIDIUM SP.
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Date
2013
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Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana
Abstract
Safe drinking water is a basic human right and its adequate supply is one of the major prerequisites for a healthy life, but waterborne diseases are a cause of deaths in many parts of the world. Three main types of micro-organisms responsible for water borne gastrointestinal illness are bacteria, viruses and protozoa. These pathogens enter the drinking water sources either by contamination of water by sewerage, unhygienic habits or by person to person contact or food borne. Giardia and Cyptosporidium protozoans act as indicators of water contamination, also the coliforms and Clostridium bacteria are world widely used as indicators of faecal contamination. A survey was conducted in rural and urban areas of Ludhiana district to find out the current status of water borne protozoans and their incidence in relation to microbial agents i.e coliforms and Clostridium sp. in water. In total, 100 water samples from various sources like submersible, handpumps, municipal corporation taps and filter were collected. Incidence of Giardia was not detected in any of the collected water samples. Results revealed that high incidence of Cryptosporidium, coliforms and Clostridium was found in handpump water followed by submersible and municipal corporation, while filter water showed their lowest incidence. Correlation of Cryptosporidium with Clostridium was also higher in handpump water (100%) followed by submersible (90%), while correlation of Cryptosporidium with coliforms was higher in submersible pumps (72.7%) and similar i.e 66.7% in the water samples collected from other sources.
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