Survey of Gram Negative and Gram Positive Bacteria in Drinking Water Supplies in Karachi, Pakistan
Farzana Abubakar Yousuf, Ruqaiyyah Siddiqui, Naveed Ahmed Khan
Microbiology Research Journal International · pp. 592–597 · Published 13 Feb 2014
10.9734/BMRJ/2014/4887Abstract
More than 20,000 children die annually in the city of Karachi alone, majority of whose death are thought to be associated with waterborne pathogens. Drinking water and recreational exposure to polluted water pose a significant public health threat including gastroenteritis, paralysis, meningitis, hepatitis, respiratory illness and diarrhoea. The aim of this study was to determine the presence of bacterial contamination in drinking water supplies in Karachi, Pakistan. A total of fifty two domestic tap water samples were collected from different areas of Karachi, between May to June 2011 and analyzed for bacterial presence based on biochemical testing. The results revealed a high prevalence of Bacillus spp. (86.84%), followed by Pseudomonas spp. (57.14%), Citrobacter spp. (14.28%) Serratia spp., Enterobacteriaceae species (14.28%), Corneybacterium (10.52%), and Acinetobacter spp. (2.63%). These findings disclose bacterial contamination in drinking water supplies, many of which are pathogenic and can produce serious as well as life-threatening infections. Future studies will determine whether bacterial contamination of drinking water occurred post-source contamination. It is recommended that household water treatment interventions should be introduced to improve water quality
References (28)
- 1 Water pollution in Pakistan and its impact on public health — A review [DOI]
- 2 Water Supply and Health [DOI]
- 3 Risk Assessment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Water [DOI]
- 4 Risk of Waterborne Illness Via Drinking Water in the United States [DOI]
- 5 The burden of disease profile of residents of Nairobi's slums: Results from a Demographic Surveillance System [DOI]
- 6 Water distribution system and diarrheal disease transmission: a case study in Uzbekistan. [DOI]
- 7 Drinking water quality assessment in Southern Sindh (Pakistan) [DOI]
- 8 Diversity and antibiotic resistance in Pseudomonas spp. from drinking water [DOI]
- 9 Published Case Studies of Waterborne Disease Outbreaks—Evidence of a Recurrent Threat [DOI]
- 10 Bacterial contamination in drinking water: a case study in rural areas of northern Rajasthan, India [DOI]
- 11 Bacteriological assessment of drinking water supply options in coastal areas of Bangladesh [DOI]
- 12 Determinants of mortality among children in the urban slums of Dhaka city, Bangladesh [DOI]
- 13 Burden of Illness in the First 3 Years of Life in an Indian Slum [DOI]
- 14 Drinking water contamination by chromium and lead in industrial lands of Karachi.
- 15 Drinking water consumption patterns in British Columbia: An investigation of associations with demographic factors and acute gastrointestinal illness [DOI]
- 16 Co-existence of Legionella and other Gram-negative bacteria in potable water from various rural and urban sources.
- 17 Microbiological Quality of Drinking Water from Dispensers in Roadside Restaurants of Bangladesh [DOI]
- 18 Bacteriological quality of drinking water in Punjab: evaluation of H2S strip test.
- 19 Microbiological and virological analysis of water from two water filtration plants and their distribution systems [DOI]
- 20 Verbal autopsy in Karachi slums: comparing single and multiple cause of child deaths [DOI]
- 21 Infant and early childhood mortality in urban slums under ICDS scheme--a prospective study.
- 22 Assessment of frequency of diarrhoea in relation to drinking water among residents of Nurpur Shahan, Pakistan.
- 23 Microbiological and chemical characteristics of water and sediment from Vrelo Cave, Republic of Macedonia.
- 24 Tracking Patterns of Enteric Illnesses in Populations and Communities [DOI]
- 25 [Bacterial regrowth in drinking water. IV. Bacterial flora in fresh and stagnant water in drinking water purification and in the drinking water distribution system].
- 26 Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology [DOI]
- 27 Pakistan and Water: New Pressures on Global Security and Human Health [DOI]
- 28 Water contamination and its related diseases.
Cited by 17
Gulnaz Pervaiz, Z. Q. Samra, A. Hussain · Advances in Life Sciences · 2024
Rabeea Noor, Aarish Maqsood, Azhar Baig · Urban Climate · 2023
M. Fida, Peiyue Li, Yuanhang Wang · Exposure and Health · 2022
N. Eid, H. A. Al Doghaither, T. Kumosani · Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences · 2017
Shujat ur Rehman, S. Baig · 2017
Farhat Nabeela, Azizullah Azizullah, Roqaia Bibi · Environmental science and pollution research international · 2014
S. Khan, Shahid Ali, S. Muhammad · Desalination and Water Treatment · 2020
K. Conlon, Chelsea Austin · 2020
Yesenia Rodríguez López, María Estela Carmona Jiménez, R. H. Morales · 2015
Aiza Javed, Hira Amjad, Imran Hashmi · Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development · 2025
Showing 11 of 17 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.
Related research
- Trichomonas vaginalis Infection in a Typical Urban and a Suburban Area of Rivers State Nigeria — shares topic coverage
- Seroprevalence and Risk of Toxoplasma gondii Infection among Pregnant Women at Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe, Nigeria — shares topic coverage
- Alternative Strategies in the Treatment of Clostridioides difficile Infection — shares topic coverage
- Secondary Infertility in Port Harcourt: Pattern and Socio-Dermographic Relationship — shares topic coverage
- Anaemia a Monitoring Tool for Helminth Infection — shares topic coverage
Article metrics
Real usage data collected on this platform.
100
Page views
0
PDF downloads
41
Outbound clicks
17
Citations
Views over time
Views by country
Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".
Traffic sources
Referring site, by host.
Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.