Journal Article

Measurement of Indoor Radon Concentration of Some Selected Residential Houses in Lapai Town, Niger State, Nigeria

Abstract

Clean and quality water is of public health importance especially in developing countries like Nigeria where access to clean water is lacking in rural areas. The presence and abundance of some bacteria species are known indicators of unhealthy nature of water bodies that are subjected to environmental pollution (especially anthropogenic activities). Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the bacteria diversity of surface water in Emu stream in North-central Nigeria for a period of Eight (8) months using standard methods and procedure. Water samples were collected from four different sampling stations. The highest mean bacterial colony count of 5.4×103 CFU/ml was recorded in station 2, while the least value of 4.3×103 CFU/ml was recorded in station 4. A total of Ten (10) species of bacteria comprising nine (9) Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Proteus spp., Campylobacter spp., Citrobacter spp., Shigella spp., Klebsiella spp., Salmonella spp., Pseudomonas spp. and Aeromonas spp.) bacteria and one (1) Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacterium were isolated and identified. Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were the commonest isolates. Station 2 and 3 recorded the highest number (8) of bacteria diversity, whereas station 4 recorded the least number of 4 isolates. The presence of these isolate is an indication that the water is polluted and people consuming the water are at risk of water borne bacterial infectious diseases. Therefore, proper water treatment mechanisms are encouraged to be put in place before its consumption.

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