IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i6p2079-d335051.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Human Enteric Pathogens in Eight Rivers Used as Rural Household Drinking Water Sources in the Northern Region of South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Natasha Potgieter

    (Microbiology Department, University of Venda, Private Bag X5050, Thohoyandou 0950, South Africa
    Dean, School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, University of Venda, Private Bag X5050, Thohoyandou 0950, South Africa)

  • Simbarashe Karambwe

    (Microbiology Department, University of Venda, Private Bag X5050, Thohoyandou 0950, South Africa)

  • Lutendo Sylvia Mudau

    (Department of Environmental Health, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South Africa)

  • Tobias Barnard

    (Water & Health Research Center, University of Johannesburg, PO Box 524, 2006 Auckland Park, Johannesburg 2094, South Africa)

  • Afsatou Traore

    (Microbiology Department, University of Venda, Private Bag X5050, Thohoyandou 0950, South Africa)

Abstract

People living in rural areas still rely on the use of environmental water that is contaminated by human and animal activities. This study assessed the occurrence of human enteric pathogens in rivers that are used by rural communities Vhembe District of South Africa as a source of drinking water covering two seasons (winter and summer) over a one-year period. Water quality was assessed using physico characteristics and indicator organisms (total coliforms, E. coli , Clostridium perfringens ). Pathogens tested included bacteria (Pathogenic E. coli , Salmonella -, Shigella - and Vibrio spp.), protozoa (Cryptosporidium- and Giardia spp.), and enteric viruses (Rota-, Noro-, Entero-, and Adenoviruses) while using published molecular protocols. The results showed that the indicator bacteria counts exceeded South African drinking water quality guideline limits and pathogenic E. coli was detected in the samples. No Shigella spp. were isolated, while Vibrio spp. and Salmonella spp. were present; parasites were detected in four rivers and Enteric viruses were predominantly detected in the winter season. The results indicated the poor condition of water and the potential health risks to consumers highlighting the need for implementing river catchment management strategies for continued sustainability in these rivers.

Suggested Citation

  • Natasha Potgieter & Simbarashe Karambwe & Lutendo Sylvia Mudau & Tobias Barnard & Afsatou Traore, 2020. "Human Enteric Pathogens in Eight Rivers Used as Rural Household Drinking Water Sources in the Northern Region of South Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-15, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:6:p:2079-:d:335051
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/6/2079/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/6/2079/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jabulani Ray Gumbo & Ratshilumela Aaron Dzaga & Nthaduleni Samuel Nethengwe, 2016. "Impact on Water Quality of Nandoni Water Reservoir Downstream of Municipal Sewage Plants in Vhembe District, South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-16, June.
    2. Lobina Palamuleni & Mercy Akoth, 2015. "Physico-Chemical and Microbial Analysis of Selected Borehole Water in Mahikeng, South Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-12, July.
    3. Erin A. Dreelin & Rebecca L. Ives & Stephanie Molloy & Joan B. Rose, 2014. "Cryptosporidium and Giardia in Surface Water: A Case Study from Michigan, USA to Inform Management of Rural Water Systems," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-24, October.
    4. Afsatou N. Traoré & Khodani Mulaudzi & Gamuchirai J.E. Chari & Stefan H. Foord & Lutendo S. Mudau & Tobias G. Barnard & Natasha Potgieter, 2016. "The Impact of Human Activities on Microbial Quality of Rivers in the Vhembe District, South Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-13, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rofhiwa T. Madilonga & Joshua N. Edokpayi & Elijah T. Volenzo & Olatunde S. Durowoju & John O. Odiyo, 2021. "Water Quality Assessment and Evaluation of Human Health Risk in Mutangwi River, Limpopo Province, South Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-16, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Akebe Luther King Abia & Lisa Schaefer & Eunice Ubomba-Jaswa & Wouter Le Roux, 2017. "Abundance of Pathogenic Escherichia coli Virulence-Associated Genes in Well and Borehole Water Used for Domestic Purposes in a Peri-Urban Community of South Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-11, March.
    2. Jean-Baptiste Burnet & Leslie Ogorzaly & Christian Penny & Henry-Michel Cauchie, 2015. "Fine-Scale Spatial Heterogeneity in the Distribution of Waterborne Protozoa in a Drinking Water Reservoir," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-19, September.
    3. Clarissa van der Loo & Catheleen Bartie & Tobias George Barnard & Natasha Potgieter, 2021. "Detection of Free-Living Amoebae and Their Intracellular Bacteria in Borehole Water before and after a Ceramic Pot Filter Point-of-Use Intervention in Rural Communities in South Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-20, April.
    4. Ranju Kumari Rathour & Deepak Sakhuja & Arvind Kumar Bhatt & Ravi Kant Bhatia, 2022. "Municipal Wastewater Connection for Water Crisis and Jaundice Outbreaks in Shimla City: Present Findings and Future Solutions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-12, September.
    5. Solanka Ellen Ledwaba & Piet Becker & Afsatou Traore-Hoffman & Natasha Potgieter, 2019. "Bacterial Contamination of Children’s Toys in Rural Day Care Centres and Households in South Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-12, August.
    6. John Ogony Odiyo & Rachel Makungo, 2018. "Chemical and Microbial Quality of Groundwater in Siloam Village, Implications to Human Health and Sources of Contamination," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-12, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:6:p:2079-:d:335051. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.