ISSN 2756-3391
African Journal of Parasitology Research ISSN 2756-3391 Vol. 12 (1), pp. 001-005, January, 2023. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Assessment of Microbial Communities in Rural Zimbabwean Drinking Water Sources
Zvidzai C.1*, Mukutirwa T.2, Mundembe R.2 and Sithole-Niang I.1
1Biochemistry Department, University of Zimbabwe, Box MP167, Mt. Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe
2Bindura University of Science and Education, P. O. Box, Bindura, Zimbabwe.
Accepted 16 October, 2023
Abstract
Traditional methods employing selective, differential and non-selective media were used to isolate and identify different species of bacteria from rural drinking water reservoirs of Mount Darwin district of Zimbabwe. The colony counts from non-selective nutrient agar plates gave an indication of the overall level of bacterial activity from each water sample. Open deep wells, shallow wells and rivers were found to be the most heavily contaminated water sources. Borehole water sources had very low total microbial loads and absent in some of the water samples. The prevalent bacteria found were the Gram negative Escherichia coli, Shigella, Salmonella, Enterobacter aerogenes and one cocci species that was not further characterized. The presence of faecal pathogenic species in the river water and open wells poses epidemiological cases of diarrhoeal diseases in the district studied.
Key words: Drinking water, microbial analysis, faecal bacteria, bacteriophages, phenotypic