Microbiological Analysis of Sachet and Tap Water in Enugu State of Nigeria

The microbiological quality of sachet and tap water in Enugu,State,Nigeriawas analyzed. Sachet water was purchased from five different manufacturers. Samples Q sub(1), T sub(1), R sub(1), J sub(1), and M sub(1) were directly from the manufacturers while samples Q sub(2), T sub(2), R sub(2), J sub(2), and M sub(2) were obtained from the retailers. Tap water was collected from three different locations in the town. All water samples were subjected to bacteriological (aerobic and anaerobic) and fungal studies using standard bacteriological and mycological methods with little modifications. For sachet water, batch of five packets both from the manufacturer and retailers were analysed and average result taken. Five separate tap water samples were taken from the three different locations. For sachet water, E. coli and S. faecalis were isolated with colony forming units (CFU) ranging from 7 to >500. For tap water, isolates included Coliform, Cl. sp and Penicillium sp. An average of 66% Clostridium sp was recovered from all the tap water of the 3 different locations. Penicillium sp was isolated from only 16.6% of tap samples. Microbial quality may vary rapidly and widely but short-term peaks in pathogen concentration may increase disease risks considerably and may also trigger outbreaks of waterborne disease.