Health risk assessment of pit compost latrine at Oshkhandas Valley, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Paper Details

Research Paper 01/10/2014
Views (415)
current_issue_feature_image
publication_file

Health risk assessment of pit compost latrine at Oshkhandas Valley, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Syed Arif Hussain, Khalil Ahmad, Shaukat Ali, Arif-un-Nisa Naqvi, Muhammad Akbar, Sujjad Hyder, Qamar Abbas, Salar Ali, Syed Najam-ul-Hassan
J. Biodiv. & Environ. Sci. 5(4), 195-203, October 2014.
Copyright Statement: Copyright 2014; The Author(s).
License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Abstract

This study was carried out in Oshkhandas valley to evaluate the impact of pit latrine on human health. It is a remote area where people still use traditional pit latrines due to which the health and hygiene system of the area is not up to the mark. Besides, the socioeconomic status of the inhabitants of the area is not satisfactory. Most of the dwellers rely on their agriculture production and its income to meet the demands of life. In this connection farmers of the area use pit latrine content as natural organic fertilizer for the crop production. To study the harmful impacts of pit content on human health, samples were taken from pit latrine and agriculture soil amended with organic manure to check the difference in microbial load in pit samples and soil samples. During this study overall 100 samples were taken 50 samples each from pit and agriculture field soil from the month of October 2012 to July 2013. During this study the overall microbial load in the area was found to be 6965.50/100g Among this the targeted parasites (Ascaris lumbricoid , Trichuris trichuria, Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium) in pit samples were 1821.42/50g and in soil samples 1691.95/50g while the targeted bacteria (E.coli, Salmonella, shigella, streptococcus faecalis, clostridium perfringens) in pit are 1917.84/50g and in soil samples 1534.29/50g.

Hafiz SY, Rauf U, Qadr B, Shahabuddin M. 1991. Etiology and management of diarrheal diseases in Karachi. Journal of Pakistan Medical Association 41, 211-213.

Fewtrell L, Macgill SM, Kay D, Casmore D. 2002. Uncertainties in risk assessment for the determination of drinking water pollution concentrations; Cryptosporidium case study. Water Research 35, (2), 441-447

Muneer B, Latif Q, Ahmed K, Ali SS, Shakoori AR. 2001. Microbiological assessment of drinking water supply of University of the Panjab. Pakistan Journal of Zoology33, 61-68.

Lechevallient MW, Welch NJ, Smith, Gaarslev K. 1990. Full scale studies of factots related to coliform regrowth in drinking water. Applied Environmental Microbiology 62, 2201-2211

Murray CJ, Lopez AD. 1996. The Global Burden of Disease: A Comprehensive Assessment of Mortality and Disability from Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors in 1990 and Projected to 2020. Boston: Harvard University Press.

Vuong TA, 2004. Risk Factors Influencing Faecal Contamination of Drinking Water in Water Sources and During Storage at the Household Level in Cu Jut District, Dak Lak Province, Vietnam. Masters abstract. Copenhagen: Institute of Public Health, University of Copenhagen.

WHO/UNICEF. 2006. Meeting the MDG drinking water and sanitation. The urban and rural challenge of the decade. World Health Organization and UNICEF, Geneva 27, Switzerland.

Nawab B, Nyborg ILP, Esser KB, Jenssen PD. 2006. Cultural preferences in designing ecological sanitation systems in North West Frontier Province, Pakistan. Journal of Environmental Psychology 26, 236–246.

Heinonen-Tanskia H, Van Wijk-Sijbesma C. 2005. Human excreta for plant production. Bioresource Technology 96,403–411.

Mnkeni PNS, Kutu FR, Muchaonyerwa P. 2008. Evaluation of human urine as a source of nutrients for selected vegetables and maize under tunnel house conditions in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Waste Management & Research 26,132–139.

Water Rearch Commission. 2006. Upfront. Human waste can make plants sick. Water  Wheel 5 (2), 6-17.

Hussain AS, Ali S, Ahmed K, Akber M, Hyder S, Ali S, Najam-ul- Hassan S, Abbas Q. 2014. Gastrointestinal Parasites &Bacteria in Vegetables Grown in Soil Treated with Organic Manure. Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences (accepted, in press).

Steineck S, Stintzing R, Rodhe L, Elmquist H, Jakobsson C. 1999. Plant nutrients in human urine and food refuse. Use of municipal organic waste. Proceedings of NJF seminar no. 292, November 23– 25, 1998 Agricultural Research Centre, Jokioinen, Finland. DIAS report Plant Production no. 13,June 1999. 2nd volume, p. 125–130.

Related Articles

Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of Pleurotus citrinopileatus Singer and Pleurotus sajor-caju (Fr.) Singer

P. Maheswari, P. Madhanraj, V. Ambikapathy, P. Prakash, A. Panneerselvam, J. Biodiv. & Environ. Sci. 27(2), 90-96, August 2025.

Mangrove abundance, diversity, and productivity in effluent-rich estuarine portion of Butuanon River, Mandaue City, Cebu

John Michael B. Genterolizo, Miguelito A. Ruelan, Laarlyn N. Abalos, Kathleen Kay M. Buendia, J. Biodiv. & Environ. Sci. 27(2), 77-89, August 2025.

Cytogenetic and pathological investigations in maize × teosinte hybrids: Chromosome behaviour, spore identification, and inheritance of maydis leaf blight resistance

Krishan Pal, Ravi Kishan Soni, Devraj, Rohit Kumar Tiwari, Ram Avtar, J. Biodiv. & Environ. Sci. 27(2), 70-76, August 2025.

Conservation and trade dynamics of non-timber forest products in local markets in south western Cameroon

Kato Samuel Namuene, Mojoko Fiona Mbella, Godswill Ntsomboh-Ntsefong, Eunice Waki, Hudjicarel Kiekeh, J. Biodiv. & Environ. Sci. 27(2), 58-69, August 2025.

Overemphasis on blue carbon leads to biodiversity loss: A case study on subsidence coastal wetlands in southwest Taiwan

Yih-Tsong Ueng, Feng-Jiau Lin, Ya-Wen Hsiao, Perng-Sheng Chen, Hsiao-Yun Chang, J. Biodiv. & Environ. Sci. 27(2), 46-57, August 2025.

An assessment of the current scenario of biodiversity in Ghana in the context of climate change

Patrick Aaniamenga Bowan, Francis Tuuli Gamuo Junior, J. Biodiv. & Environ. Sci. 27(2), 35-45, August 2025.

Entomofaunal diversity in cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] cultivation systems within the cotton-growing zone of central Benin

Lionel Zadji, Roland Bocco, Mohamed Yaya, Abdou-Abou-Bakari Lassissi, Raphael Okounou Toko, J. Biodiv. & Environ. Sci. 27(2), 21-34, August 2025.

Biogenic fabrication of biochar-functionalized iron oxide nanoparticles using Miscanthus sinensis for oxytetracycline removal and toxicological assessment

Meenakshi Sundaram Sharmila, Gurusamy, Annadurai, J. Biodiv. & Environ. Sci. 27(2), 10-20, August 2025.