Microbial quality of well water from rural and urban households in Karnataka, India: a cross-sectional study.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to evaluate the microbial quality of the well water used as a drinking source in urban and rural households.


METHODS
A total of 80 household well water samples were analyzed by the multiple fermentation tube method to determine the presumptive coliform count/most probable number of coliforms, and the isolates were identified using standard procedures, followed by susceptibility testing.


RESULTS
Fecal indicator organisms, including Escherichia coli and Enterococcus spp. were isolated from 22 (27.5%) samples, and the majority (92.5%) of the water sources were contaminated with coliforms. A total of 170 bacterial isolates were obtained, including coliforms (70%), Enterococcus spp. (1.8%) and saprophytes (28.2%). A significant number of isolates were multi-drug resistant, which is a cause of concern. A comparison of the microbial quality of the water between urban and rural households revealed no significant differences.


CONCLUSIONS
It might be prudent to monitor the bacteriological quality of well water at the source in addition to resistance profiles of the isolates.
Department of Microbiology, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal University, Manipal 576104, India. chiranjay@yahoo.co.in
Chiranjay
C
Mukhopadhyay
Shashidhar
S
Vishwanath
Vandana K
VK
Eshwara
Shamanth A
SA
Shankaranarayana
Afrin
A
Sagir
D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005191:Family Characteristics; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007501:Iron; D053758:Nanoparticles; D012424:Rural Population; D014505:Urban Population; D014871:Water Microbiology / Q000592:standards*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000592:standards*; D060986:Water Wells / Q000382:microbiology*
D007501:Iron