Drinking water quality and risk of waterborne diseases in the rural mountainous area of Azad Kashmir Pakistan
Paper Details
Drinking water quality and risk of waterborne diseases in the rural mountainous area of Azad Kashmir Pakistan
Abstract
A study was conducted to evaluate drinking water safety at three different levels including sources, system and household in district Bagh, an earthquake affected area of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Pakistan. Portable water testing kit (Oxfam-DelAgua) was used for the detection of thermo-tolerant fecal coliform (Escherichia coli). A total (n=254) number of drinking water samples were examined for the presence of fecal coliform. It was found that, 68.5% (174 out of 254) of the overall samples tested were contaminated with Escherichia coli. The 52% (40 out of 77) of the water samples at source level, whereas 69% (58 out of 84) of water sample collected from system and 71% (66 out of 93) at household level were found contaminated with Escherichia coli. It was concluded that unprotected drinking water sources, improper management of waste, vulnerable sewage and ignorance regarding health and hygiene are the main reason of water contamination in the area.
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