IDENTIFICATION OF SALMONELLA TYPHI IN DRINKING WATER IN IDAH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation is essential for healthy life and can significantly reduce public expenditure on preventable diseases and epidemics (e.g. cholera, diarrhea, typhoid, and dracunculiasis) arising from contaminated drinking water and unhygienic disposal of human waste (WHO, 2007). According to the same document, about 1.7 million deaths annually are related to drinking unsafe water and poor disposal of wastes. Children are the most vulnerable, due to their low natural immunity, and a high percentage of infant mortality is linked to contaminated water and lack of hygienic sanitation (Sunday and Martine, 2011). Available estimate shows that 783 million people do not have access to clean water and almost 2.5 billion do not have access to adequate sanitation while 6 to 8 million people die annually from the consequences of water related diseases globally (UNESCO, 2013). Between 1999 and 2008, over ₦706 billion of public funds were devoted to provision of safe drinking water, improved sanitation, and health-related services by the Federal Government of Nigeria, excluding contributions by states and local governments (CBN, 2009). What is not clear, however, is the quality of water the government has been providing and its effects on the health outcomes of the people. About 42% of Nigeria‟s populations have no access to clean drinking water, which is almost 20% of Africa‟s population in the same position of difficulty (WHO/UNICEF 2010). The implication is that African children are exposed to deadly but preventable water-borne diseases, which affects their growth and health in general (Kingdon and Monk, 2010). Viable bacteria (among them was Salmonella typhi) have been identified in the popular sachet packed water and has been seen to be microbially unsafe for human consumption, constituting potential health risk, and this can be linked to the increasing incidence of typhoid fever among other food and water-borne infections (Edema, Omemu, and Fapetu, 2001).
Commercialization of drinking water is inevitable considering the increasing population of
Nigeria vis-avis incapability of supplying pipe-borne potable water through public water supply. Therefore, the production and distribution of commercial sachet-packaged water in Nigeria require increased attention and close monitoring by the regulatory agencies. Also most of the natural sources of drinking water (tap, tube well and well) can be highly contaminated.
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