Abstract
Water is critical for survival of any life form and plays a huge role
in domestic, industrial and agricultural purposes. However, water contamination
is a major public health concern world over. This study ascertained the level
of contamination of water sources and surrounding environments in selected
communities of Akwanga Local Government Area, Nasarawa State. A total of 20
water and soil samples respectively, were collected from 4 locations in the
study area. Overall, prevalence of parasite infestation of 47.50% was
encountered in the study. Parasites encountered include hookworm spp. (15.00%),
Ascaris lumbricoides (12.50%), Strongyloides spp. (7.50%), Entamoeba
histolytica (5.00%), Trichuris trichiura (5%) and Girdia lamblia (2.50%) (p
< 0.05). Parasite infestation did not differ significantly (p>0.05)
across communities; however, higher prevalence was encountered in Nunkuchu
sarki (57.14%) and Nunkuchu hayi (44.44%). All six (6) parasites encountered in
the study were endemic in Nunkuchu sarki while Nunkuchu hayi and Nunkuchu titi
had 5 and 3 recorded parasites respectively. Stream had the highest number of
parasites 4 (80.00%), followed by well 2, with no record of parasites in
boreholes (p>0.05). Analysis of the soil samples around the sampled water
sources revealed a high prevalence of parasites around the borehole 3 (60.00%)
and pond area 3 (60.00%) with the least records the well area 2 (37.50%)
(p>0.05). This study has indicated a high contamination of water sources and
the surrounding environment in Akwanga Local Government Area, Nasarawa State.
This is a threat to public health and therefore requires urgent attention.
Keywords: Parasites, Contamination, Drinking water sources, Soil, Public health, Sanitation and Hygiene, Nasarawa State
1. Introduction
Water is a natural resource upon which every form of life depends. As a result, access to clean and portable water is key to healthy living. About 71% of the earth surface is covered by water, of which approximately 97% is saline, with only about 3% as fresh water1. The importance of water to the survival of living organism cannot be over emphasized. It is used in every aspect of human metabolism and also very essential to plants. Apart from aiding in the survival of both plants and animals, water is also used in carrying out various life activities which include recreational, agricultural and domestic activities. It is important therefore, that water used in carrying out these activities is kept in a good state and free from contamination2,3.
Drinking water could be gotten from sources such as borehole, tap, rivers, streams, lakes and rain. Every community of humans, animals or plants have one or more of these as their sources of water. According to a report by the World Bank Group4, the number of people lacking safe drinking water and basic sanitation in the past 20 years has increased by 197 million and 211 million, respectively. Currently, over two billion people still lack access to safe drinking water and 3.5 billion are deprived of safely managed sanitation facilities.
Safe drinking water for human consumption should be free from pathogenic organisms, meet the standard guidelines for taste, odour, appearance and chemical concentrations and must be available in adequate quantities for domestic purposes5,6. However, inadequate sanitation and persistent faecal contamination of water sources is responsible for a large percentage of people in both developed and developing countries not having access to safe drinking water and suffering from various parasitic diseases5,6. Drinking water can be contaminated with soil transmitted helminth. Contamination may be direct by defecating or urinating into water bodies or by run-off from contaminated soil into the various sources of drinking water. Many infectious diseases are associated with faecally contaminated water and are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide7. Waterborne diseases are caused by enteric pathogens such as bacteria, viruses and parasites that are transmitted by the faecal-oral route8 and are the major cause of diarrhea resulting to the deaths of over 2,000 children in Africa daily. Diarrhea kills more children than HIV, tuberculosis and malaria combined and its main cause is food and water contaminated with human waste9.
Waterborne parasitic infections have become an area of concern all around the world due to contamination of the different sources of drinking water10. Epidemics associated with water borne diseases are a common scenario in most developing countries of the world where access to basic amenities especially clean and safe drinking water is lacking. Water related diseases trap millions in cycle of poverty and poor health, often rendering them unable to work or go to school11. Contaminants in water are defined by the Safe Drinking Water Act as being anything other than water molecules and some drinking water contamination may reasonably be harmful if consumed at certain levels. Water is said to be of good quality if and when it is free from contamination, has no taste or smell and the pH is between 7.0 and 9.5 indicating a healthy level of alkaline mineral12. According to Pam, et al.13 in most developing countries like Nigeria where dangerous and very toxic industrial and domestic wastes are disposed carelessly by dumping in rivers and streams with total disregard for aquatic lives and rural dwellers, water has become an important medium for the transmission of water-borne diseases in most communities, posing major public health challenges around the globe. Although Nigeria is known to be endowed with abundant water resources, the availability of potable water is a problem in many parts of the country14.
To reduce the rate of transmission of water borne diseases there is an urgent need to update standard information on the status of drinking water safety so as to improve public health in local communities in Nunkuchu village of Akwanga Local Government Area in particular and Nasarawa State at large. Thus, this study aimed at evaluating the parasitic contamination of potable water sources in Nunkuchu village of Akwanga Local Government Area of Nasarawa State in relation to composition of parasites in water sources across seasons in order to improve the health standard of the people in the community, thereby meeting up with WHO (2015) assurance of drinking water safety which is foundational to control and prevention of water-borne diseases.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study area
Nunkuchu Village, located in Nasarawa State (Figure 1) in North Central Nigeria and administered by Akwanga Local Government, is the study site for the research. With a land area of 996 square kilometers, Nunkuchu village had a total population of 513,930 as of the 2006 census. The primary means of subsistence in Nunkuchu village is agriculture, although residents also engage in trading, farming, fishing, hunting and crafts. The primary language spoken by the inhabitants of Nunkuchu is Mada.