Assessment of Microbial Contamination of Drinking WaterandEnvironment-related Diseases in Slum Settlements aroundLagosCoastal Areas, Southwest Nigeria

Abstract

Globally, informal settlements provide a substantial risk to the provision of potable water. Theseconditions are marked by excessive population density, inadequate technology, and insufficient sanitary infrastructure, leading to the spread of water, sanitation, and  hygiene-related diseases. The presence of bacteria in drinking water is becoming more and more associated withvariousdiseases around  the world, which is why it is important to evaluate the quality of all sourcesofdrinking water. Therefore, the present study aim to assessed  environmental diseases andmicrobial contamination of drinking water from five slum communities (Bariga, Oworonshoki,  Majidun, Iwaya, and Ijora-Badia) in the Lagos coastal area of Nigeria. A structured questionnairewas administered to 250 respondents to  elicit information on the perceived environmental diseases and health of slum dwellers. Drinking water samples were collected fromthe  slums andanalysed for microbial loads using standard methods. The collected data were subjectedtodescriptive and inferential statistics  using SPSS version (22.0). Results of the meanconcentrations of microbial loads of total bacteria count (TBC) and total coliformcount  (TCC)(0.04-2.5 cfu/mL, 0.01-2.1 cfu/mL) exceeded USEPA and WHO limits during wet seasonwhiledry season values ranged between  0.4-2.5, 0.1-2.1 cfu/mL for TBC and TCCalso exceededrecommend standards of zero and 1.0 x 102 respectively. Environment-related  diseases included77.5 % diarrhoea cases (Bariga); 60.0% dysentery cases (Bariga, Iwaya, Ijora-Badia); 50.0%cholera cases (Majidun, Ijora- Badia); 67.5%, 62.5% pneumonia cases (Bariga, Iwaya); 70.0%, 67.5%, 65.0% cough/catarrh cases (Iwaya, Majidun, Ijora-Badia,  Oworoshoki); and75.0%, 70.0% chest pain (Bariga, Majidun, Iwaya) respectively. Among the eleven bacteria isolatesidentified, Escherchia  Coli, Micococci Species, Staphyloccocus Saprophyticus and Klebsiellaaerogene had the highest occurrence rate across the study area for  both season. Trend analysisrevealed a high occurrence of malaria, typhoid, and skin reactions. High microbial loadsoforganisms have  been found which makes residents prone to diseases. This study revealedthat effective and regular maintenance of drinking water  sources through the adoption and promotionof appropriate water safety plans could prevent water-related diseases.