CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Generally, humans drink water that contains pathogens or contain unacceptable levels of dissolved contaminants. Such waters are not potable water and drinking or using them in cooking leads to wide spread of acute and chronic illness. However, they are key determinants of many microbial diseases with serious complications in immunocompetent and immuno-compromised individuals (Steiner et al., 1997).

Water must have some sufficient quality to serve as drinking water. A potable water supply is one which is drinkable. Potable water also is treated water that meets that quality standard for human consumption and other uses (Agha, 2008). It may be packaged or unpackaged as the case may be. Most table water today includes treated water that is packaged in plastic bottles or sachets, popularly known as “pure water”.  

The introduction of sachet and bottled water in Nigeria was to provide safe, hygienic and affordable instant drinking water to the public and curb the magnitude of water related infection in the country. Although this is a laudable idea, current trends seem to suggest that sachet drinking water could be a route of the transmission of enteric pathogen (Kwakye Nuako, 2007). This does not necessarily mean that bottled water is 100% free from any pathogen. Recent investigation conducted on the safety of drinking water in Lagos, Nigeria has shown that sachet water especially from hawkers is not of good microbiological quality (Dada, 2009). This observation was based on studies carried out on water samples to ascertain the bacteriological quality of the water in sachets, to identify contributory factors that determine the fate of packaged water product as it moves from catchments to consumer and to highly unharnessed opportunities for policy improvements that would allow for sustained and improved regulation of the sachet water industry. Also, investigation conducted on the safety of drinking water in Ghana has shown that bottled water on the Ghanaian market is of good microbiological quality while the quality of some factory bagged sachet and hand-tied polythene-bagged drinking water was noted to be doubtful

(Obiri-Danso, 2003).

Lack of information on pathogenic organisms associated with drinking water in our community creates some uncertainties in our understanding of overall quality of drinking water (Kwakye Nuako, 2007). According to Coker, 2004 he observed that in Lagos State many people depend on water vendors to whom they pay heavily for provision of water to meet daily domestic needs. People tend to consume sachet and bottled drinking water because of its instant availability to quench appetite. However, the high dependence of people on sachet water due to its low price and instant availability to quench appetite and its low cost of production on the side of the manufacturers brought about increase of different brands of sachet water produced and marketed in Nigeria. 

It is necessary to note that Nigeria as a country is challenged not only on food stuff. However, the country is also facing drinking water scarcity, a situation that has been identified for years. It is also important to note that due to scarcity of water in most places, drinking water is got from doubtful source which is major potential sources of water-borne diseases. This is a great concern to many sectors in this present administration as they try to implement strategies to meet the health millennium development goals (MDGS) in 2015”, a former minister of health said (Agha, 2008).

Protozoan organisms are ubiquitous and could be found in various systems including water bodies common examples are Cryptosporidium parvum, Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba histolytica, Microsporidia spp and

Cyclospora cayelenensis (Steiner et al, 1997, Maza et al 1997, Koneman et al, 1992). The presence of these organisms in sources of drinking water is partly due to four reasons. Firstly, these organisms are indigenous pathogens found in most domestic animals; secondly the degree of environmental contamination with their infective stages; thirdly, their resistance to water purification process and finally unhygienic handling of drinking water (Meisel et al., 1776; Le Chevallier et al., 1991). 

In developing countries, water–borne gastrointestinal parasitic pathogens such as Cryptosporidium parvum, Giardia lambia and Entamoeba histolytica are frequently associated with mobidity, particularly in children (Bilal, 2003). These parasites are most common cause of infection world wide (Pickering et al., 1984; Curry and Smith 1998; Tanyuksel et al., 2001). In developed nations, outbreaks of E. histolytica infections have been caused by sewage contaminated water supplies (Barwick et al., 1999). In Nigeria, an overall prevalence of intestinal parasite (16%) was reported (Alakpa et al, 2002). However, the most frequent intestinal parasite was Cryptosporidium parvum and the least was Giardia lamblia and Entamoeba histolytica. In the study to investigate the episode of giardiasis among the inhabitant of Abagana, Nigeria, its detection in the natural water bodies and its relationship with environmental factor, the overall prevalence of giadiasis among the inhabitants was 18.5% (Obiukwu et al, 2008). A four year study on the prevalence of blood and gastrointestinal parasites of man on (18) L.G.A of Edo State, Nigeria revealed 4% and 3% for E. histolytica and Giardia lamblia respectively (Mordi et al, 2007). Mbanugo et al (2005) in a study conducted to determine the prevalence of Cryptosporidium parvum infections among children aged 0 – 15 years in Awka, metropolis,

Anambra State, Nigeria detected 14% of the children examined positive. 

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