Seasonal variation of enteric bacteria population in surface water sources among rural communities of Ijebu North, Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study assessed the effect of seasonal variation on enteric bacteria population in water sources of six different communities between April 2017 and March 2018 using conventional microbiological methods. Bacteria belonging to the enteric family were primarily investigated in this study. The bacteriological analyses included total viable bacterial counts and phenotypic characterization. The bacteriological analyses showed that total heterotrophic counts ranged from 1.2 × 10⁴ cfu/ml to 3.0 × 10⁴ cfu/ml and from 1.0 × 10⁴ cfu/ml to 2.0 × 10⁴ cfu/ml during the dry and wet seasons, respectively. One hundred and twenty-two potentially pathogenic species of bacteria representing 10 genera were identified. These included Acinetobacter sp., Enterobacter sp., Escherichia coli, Shigella sp., Salmonella sp., and Proteus sp. Others are Serratia sp., Pseudomonas sp., Yersinia sp., and Klebsiella sp. Results showed that bacteria isolated (10) were higher during the rainy season while Klebsiella sp (24) and Enterobacter sp (30) were the predominant species. It was apparent that water sources investigated in this study were unsafe for domestic use due to the presence of these pathogenic bacteria. So, there is a need for the provision of safe water in these communities to prevent outbreaks of waterborne disease.

Key words: microbial, potable water, rural dwellers, seasonal variation