Open AccessQuantitative assessment of fecal contamination in multiple environmental sample types in urban communities in Dhaka, Bangladesh using SaniPath microbial approach
Author(s) -
Nuhu Amin,
Mahbubur Rahman,
Suraja Raj,
Shahjahan Ali,
Jamie Green,
Shimul Das,
Solaiman Doza,
Momenul Haque Mondol,
Yuke Wang,
Mohammad Aminul Islam,
Mahbub-Ul Alam,
Tarique Md. Nurul Huda,
Sabrina Haque,
Leanne Unicomb,
George Joseph,
Christine L. Moe
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0221193
Subject(s) - contamination , fecal coliform , most probable number , sanitation , feces , latrine , environmental science , veterinary medicine , toxicology , waterborne diseases , biology , environmental engineering , ecology , water quality , medicine , bacteria , genetics
Rapid urbanization has led to a growing sanitation crisis in urban areas of Bangladesh and potential exposure to fecal contamination in the urban environment due to inadequate sanitation and poor fecal sludge management. Limited data are available on environmental fecal contamination associated with different exposure pathways in urban Dhaka. We conducted a cross-sectional study to explore the magnitude of fecal contamination in the environment in low-income, high-income, and transient/floating neighborhoods in urban Dhaka. Ten samples were collected from each of 10 environmental compartments in 10 different neighborhoods (4 low-income, 4 high-income and 2 transient/floating neighborhoods). These 1,000 samples were analyzed with the IDEXX-Quanti-Tray technique to determine most-probable-number (MPN) of E . coli . Samples of open drains (6.91 log 10 MPN/100 mL), surface water (5.28 log 10 MPN/100 mL), floodwater (4.60 log 10 MPN/100 mL), produce (3.19 log 10 MPN/serving), soil (2.29 log 10 MPN/gram), and street food (1.79 log 10 MPN/gram) had the highest mean log 10 E . coli contamination compared to other samples. The contamination concentrations did not differ between low-income and high-income neighborhoods for shared latrine swabs, open drains, municipal water, produce, and street foodsamples. E . coli contamination levels were significantly higher (p <0.05) in low-income neighborhoods compared to high-income for soil (0.91 log 10 MPN/gram, 95% CI, 0.39, 1.43), bathing water (0.98 log 10 MPN/100 mL, 95% CI, 0.41, 1.54), non-municipal water (0.64 log 10 MPN/100 mL, 95% CI, 0.24, 1.04), surface water (1.92 log 10 MPN/100 mL, 95% CI, 1.44, 2.40), and floodwater (0.48 log 10 MPN/100 mL, 95% CI, 0.03, 0.92) samples. E . coli contamination were significantly higher (p<0.05) in low-income neighborhoods compared to transient/floating neighborhoods for drain water, bathing water, non-municipal water and surface water. Future studies should examine behavior that brings people into contact with the environment and assess the extent of exposure to fecal contamination in the environment through multiple pathways and associated risks.