Water Quality and Distribution of Pathogenic Microorganisms along Kabianga River in Kericho County, Kenya

Journal Title: Biotechnology Journal International - Year 2016, Vol 15, Issue 3

Abstract

Background: Safe and clean water is of major concern to mankind because it is directly linked with the health and their wellbeing. The disposal of different kinds of pollutants and nutrients through sewage, agricultural runoff and industrial effluents into rivers and water bodies effect a sequence of changes in its physicochemical characteristics. Kabianga River is known for provision of clean drinking water, a habitat for many aquatic plants and living organisms and irrigation water to farmlands. Excessive industrialization and consequent urbanization has led to several problems of water quality management of the river. Aim: This research was aimed at assessing the quality of Kabianga river by ascertaining the levels of microorganisms and if it meets the local and international microbiological standards. Study Design: The study used experimental design. Methodology: The water samples were collected during rainy and dry seasons. Standard bacteriological techniques was used to describe bacteria content from water samples. Results: The results indicates that water is highly contaminated with human pathogenic bacteria. The most dominant bacteria in both seasons were Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Shigella, Proteus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Conclusion: From the findings it can be concluded that the water from this river is not fit for human consumption or for domestic uses. Therefore regular monitoring of the water microbiological quality and public health education should be carried out to sensitize the residence on the dangers of using the polluted water.

Authors and Affiliations

Kemboi Douglas, Selina Kotut, Soimo Allan Kiplangat

Keywords

Related Articles

Transgenic Cotton Development: Agro-economic Analysis and Comparative Study

The development of transgenic crop since its first launched to the public in 1995 results in high expectation in order to boost the agricultural productivity, particularly in cotton. Higher yield and higher return are th...

Mitochondrial DNA Variability among Some Saudi Arabian Goat Breeds

Five hundred nucleotides of cytochrome b gene was sequenced for Pakistani, Tihami, Syrian, Masri and Aardi goat breeds inhabiting Saudi Arabia. Based on two computational maximum-parsimony and neighbor-joining methods, t...

Characterization and Virulence of an Indigenous Soil Bacillus sp. Prospecting for Mosquito Control

Aims: Aquatic habitat of the rice fields is the effective breeding site of the mosquitoes whose overcrowding would promote their pathogens. But no attention has been paid to these habitats for isolation and identificatio...

Enhancing the Performance of Three White-rot Fungi in the Mycoremediation of Crude Oil Contaminated Soil

Contamination of soils by petroleum hydrocarbon is on the increase, particularly in the oil producing areas of Nigeria. White-rot fungi have enzymes which are capable of turning these organic compounds into harmless subs...

Comparative Evaluation of the Proximate Composition and Antibacterial Activity of Ground Musa paradisiaca (Plantain) Peels and Leaves

The study was conducted between May and August, 2015. It determined and compared the proximate composition (measured in percentage, %) of the ground Musa paradisiaca peels and leaves, and the antibacterial activity (meas...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP237977
  • DOI 10.9734/BBJ/2016/27279
  • Views 123
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

Kemboi Douglas, Selina Kotut, Soimo Allan Kiplangat (2016). Water Quality and Distribution of Pathogenic Microorganisms along Kabianga River in Kericho County, Kenya. Biotechnology Journal International, 15(3), 1-9. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-237977