Water that is suitable for drinking and cooking is referred to as potable water because it meets approved standards for its physical, chemical, and bacteriological characteristics. The recommended amount for a person weighing 60 kg per day is 2 liters (according to WHO and UNICEF). This value is used to calculate how much exposure to potentially harmful substances in drinking water is consumed. However, the amount of water that each person really consumes varies greatly from person to person and depending on the climate, physical activity, and culture (De Zuane, 1997).
Water has influenced human health strongly and it is required in minimum amount for survival daily; it is therefore important to access good quality or potable water for life. As a result, water has an essential effect on the health and well-being of consumers. Water, however, has a considerably wider range of effects on health and happiness. The availability of water, both in terms of quantity and quality, is essential to determining both individual and societal health. (World Health Organization WHO, 2013). Having good quality water is key population health and sustainable development. 80% of diseases in the tropics has been attributed to consumption of unsafe drinking water sources giving a rise to mortality rate from preventable diseases (Epundu., et al., 2017).
Ensuring that everyone has access to properly managed drinking water and sanitation is essential for promoting human health and sustainable development. Clean water and proper sanitation are essential to preventing the transmission of diseases such the COVID-19 virus (Otto et al., 2020) (Prüss-Üstün et al., 2008). Despite the necessity of clean water for drinking and for maintaining human health, 2 billion and 3.6 billion people, respectively, lack access to even the most basic sanitation systems (UN-Water, 2021).
Due to the warming of the planet's ecosystems brought on by climate change, access to water is becoming more unpredictable and scarce (UN-Water, 2021). Universal access to properly managed drinking water and sanitation services is still a long way off. However, between 2000 and 2020, 2.4 billion people will receive better sanitation facilities, and 2 billion will have access to safe drinking water (WHO and UNICEF, 2021).
In order to determine if a country's water infrastructure is sufficient for protecting public health, the 2022 EPI Sanitation & Drinking Water metrics measure diseases and fatalities brought on by contact with contaminated water and sanitation systems. Nigeria is ranked 177th overall and 43rd in sub-Saharan Africa. (Wolf M.J. et al., 2022).
In 2022, Environmental performance index which tracks diseases and deaths as a result of exposure to unsafe drinking water and sanitation, providing insights to countries on their water infrastructure to maintain public health. Nigeria position was 177 out of 180 countries globally with a drinking water quality of 5.0 score out of 100 from the united kingdom of 100. The EPI grades 180 countries global on fundamental issues such as environmental health, climate change, and ecosystem vitality; thus placing Nigeria in a class of public health emergency. (Wolf, M.J., Emerson, J.W., Esty, D.C., De Sherbinin, A., Wendling, Z.A., et al., 2022)
The establishment of safe management of drinking water and sanitation services has not advanced very far in the world. Between 2000 and 2020, 2.4 billion more people had better sanitary conditions, and 2 billion more people had access to clean water.UNICEF and WHO, 2021
Diseases such as diarrhoea, schistosomiasis, cholera, and infective hepatitis and are transmitted as a result to the consumption and usage of unsafe water. According to the World Health Organization, use of contaminated drinking water and inadequate sanitation and hygiene caused 88 percent of the 4 million cases of diarrheal disease that occur each year. (UNICEF. 2019). An estimate of 1.8 million people die annually from diarrhoea diseases of which 94% of those deaths can be prevented through improving the availability of clean water, sanitary conditions, and hygiene.(Solomon, E.T et al.,2020). Therefore, encouraging water treatment and safe storage will assist at-risk offering them the tools and knowledge they need to consume clean water for drinking will assist individuals and groups in taking control of their own water security.(Solomon, E.T et al., 2020).
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines diarrhoea as three or more watery or loose stools per day brought on by an excessive increase in daily bowel motions or an unusually high quantity of stomatal fluid. Diarrhoea kills more than 90% of children under the age of five in low- and middle-income countries, while in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), it is responsible for 88% of all deaths in the same age group. (UNICEF, 2016).
Children who experience diarrhoea may experience a number of issues, including an appetite loss, an electrolyte imbalance, malnutrition, an increased risk of contracting further infectious infections, and a delay in their physical growth and development. spirit (Demissie G. D., 2021). Diarrhoea hinders physical and cognitive development and is linked to a number of issues, such as the 72.8 million people who are disabled, adjusted loss of life, and damaged family finances and health systems (Aikins M, Armah G, Akazili J, Hodgson A., 2010; Gakidou E, Afshin A, Abajobir AA, Abate KH, Abbafati C, Abbas KM, et al.,2017).
Due to limited access to clean water, poor sanitation, and hygiene, as well as poorer health and nutritional status, diarrhoea is more common in homes with low and average incomes (Melese B et al., 2019). According to estimates, there are 2.5 billion people who require better sanitary facilities. These unsanitary conditions allow germs that cause diarrhea to proliferate and spread more quickly. (Melese B., 2019).
Pathogens associated with diarrheal diseases in developing countries correlates to quality and quantity of water, age of the child, obtainability to toilet facilities, educational level, economic status of the households, housing conditions, feeding practices, and the general hygiene in the environment (Adeniji-Oloukoi., 2013). There is a higher risk of waterborne diseases in areas with adequate water supply, poor sanitary conditions, bad sewage pipelines, open defecation, Steep and uncovered wells used as sources of drinking water and, poor system of human waste disposal ( United Nations., 2015).
Multiple investigators have recognized an array of indirect risk factors for child diarrhoea, which can be categorized as socioeconomic, environmental, and behavioral factors at the level of households (Sarker A et al., 2019). They include the mother's age, place of residence, degree of education, the number of children in the home below the age of five, access to latrines and clean water, money, and employment status, among many other things.
It is well known that factors such as the age of the child, the quality and quantity of water, access to toilets, housing status, education level, household financial situation, place of residence, eating habits, and general problems Sanitary conditions (personal or domestic hygiene) near home influence the risk of diarrheal pathogens in developing countries (Adeniji-Oloukoi, 2013). According to Farthing (2009) and the United Nations (2015), open defecation, especially near drinking water sources, and inadequatehuman waste disposal systems both increase the risk of waterborne diseases in areas with insufficient water sources, poor quality water and sewage pipes, poor sanitary conditions, steep wells and uncovered wells used as sources of drinking water, and these factors.
Diarrhoea continues to be one of the most common causes of death and morbidity in children, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Infectious disorders claimed the lives of 6.3 million children under the age of five worldwide in 2013 (3.2 million), with diarrhoea accounting for more than 500,000 of these deaths (UUsten et al., 2008; Thiam et al., 2017). By 2030, it is anticipated that 4.4 million children under the age of 5 will die annually from infectious illnesses, with sub-Saharan Africa accounting for 60% of these fatalities. Diarrhoea is thought to account for 3.6% of all illnesses globally in terms of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) (WHO, 2019; Thiam et al., 2017).
Despite a major fall in diarrhea-related mortality around the globe over the past 25 years, sub-Saharan Africa has not seen a corresponding decline in diarrhea-related morbidity because of other variables. dangers such poor hygienic, sanitary, and water conditions. Early childhood diarrhoea prevalence and socioeconomic status are connected. In North Sudan, 28% of children under the age of five suffer diarrhoea, according to studies (Siziya, Muula, and Rudatsikira, 2013). Another study carried out in eastern Ethiopia found that the prevalence of diarrhoea was 21.5% (Antench et al., 2017). The World Bank categorises these nations as low-income nations. Middle-income nations tend to have lower prevalence rates; a 2016 study in Thailand revealed a prevalence of 4.9%, while a 2014 study in Vietnam recorded a prevalence of 8.6%. Out of a total of 5,478 respondents, the mean prevalence in the three East African nations chosen for the study between 2012 and 2017 was 27%, with a range of 11–54% (Office National de la Statistique, 2016; UNICEF, 2014).
Although the 6.1 and 6.2 Sustainable Development Goals clearly state that everyone must have access to water and sanitation by 2030 (United Nations, 2015), achieving this goal continues to be very difficult for sub-Saharan Africa (United Nations, 2016; Roche et al., 2017). Sub-Saharan Africa's access to sanitation, hygiene, and water availability has been steadily improving, but the region is falling behind other developing countries in these areas. Between 1990 and 2008, better water supply increased from 49–60%, whereas access to improved sanitation only increased from 28–31%.
Worldwide, 67% of people in 2015 had access to "basic water supply" (WASH), including 82% of urban residents and 54% of rural residents. Nigerian WASH Watch; WHO and UNICEF; 2019).
Nigeria has a low GAPPD intervention score of 31% and ranks as the second-largest contributor to the Under-five Mortality Rate values from diarrhea in the world, which are both suggestive of the fact that the country loses over 2,300 children under the age of five every day. (International Vaccine Access Centre (IVAC)., 2015). The "GAPPD score" of a nation assesses the application of actions to safeguard against, Monitor and cure diarrhea and pneumonia. The more interventions are being employed, the higher the score is (International Vaccine Access Centre IVAC., 2015). Approximately 88% of the disease burden caused by diarrhea is attributable to an inadequate supply of clean water, basic sanitation, and hygiene; however, while the disease rate is reducing more moderately, diarrheal mortality is still abnormally high and is steadily declining by 4% year. (Clasen et al., 2019). These declines must be accelerated by interventions that target the root causes and the most at-risk kids (UNICEF, 2020). These efforts must be guided by crucial knowledge concerning the fifteen loads, risk variables, and case fatality of extremely dangerous and incapacitating occurrences. However, in Nigeria, an area with the highest rates of child death, these statistics have been inadequate (UNICEF, 2020).
A study conducted by Korie FC, Ikefuna AN, and Ibe BC (2013, In Enugu, Nigeria, children under the age of five seem to get acute diarrhoea at a similar rate regardless of their sociodemographic features. In the highland state, it was discovered that family type, family size, breastfeeding, and kid sex were two factors linked to occurrences of diarrhoea. Only breastfeeding, mother education, and diarrhoea in other siblings were discovered to be significantly linked with diarrhoea, though. found a link between the frequency of diarrhoea and low mother education, infants who weren't exclusively breastfed, and siblings who had previously experienced diarrhoea. (Yilgwan CS, Okolo SN., 2012).
In most cases, the microbiological water quality is assessed using Escherichia coli (E. coli), a marker of faecal contamination and waterborne pathogens. Membrane filtration requires specialised tools and knowledge for E. coli detection. The hydrogen sulphide presence/absence test has gained appeal as a low-cost assay for identifying faecal contamination since it is inexpensive, easy to use, and portable. It has been utilised on a global scale for over 20 years (Mengistu et al., 2022).
An alternate to the microbiological water quality test, which was originally developed in the early 1980s as a cost-effective field-based water quality test, is the hydrogen sulfide test (Parashar U.D, Breese Js, Glass Ri., 2003). The test screens for a change in the colour of water samples to black coloration indicating a presence/absence of fecal coliform. Utilizing molecular microbiology, the specificity of the hydrogen sulphide test for bacterial genera associated with faecal contamination is confirmed. (Schnabel, Bastian & Caplin, Jonathan & Cooper, Ian., 2020).
For over 30 years, the hydrogen sulphide tests has been utilized to screen for faecal contamination in water worldwide. The test is a very effective water quality-monitoring tool for low- middle-income resource settings.
The hydrogen sulphide test kit for the microbiological quality of water is an easy-to-use instrument for assessing the mobility of drinking water in the field. There is no need for a laboratory for this test. It is a cheap, trustworthy, and practical way to determine the mobility of a water sample under field conditions. Drinking contaminated water puts one at risk for cholera, typhoid, diarrhoea, and jaundice, among other waterborne illnesses. The Test Kit medium's medium changes colour to show if it is fit for drinking or not.
A microbiologist and a well-stocked lab are required for the traditional approach of assessing the microbiological purity of water. It is also an expensive and drawn-out test. Only after roughly 72 hours is the desired outcome seen and noted. However, the hydrogen sulphide test kit gives the necessary result in just 18 hours, is inexpensive, and is particularly beneficial in rural areas where tests may be performed by even those without a college degree.
Advantages of the test
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This is a field test so water samples can be taken directly from the faucet.
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There is no need to remove chlorine from chlorinated water as the contents of the bottle remove the chlorine immediately.
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No need to measure the volume of water as the level on the label says 20 ml.
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Testing is simple, fast and inexpensive.
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No need for electricity, laboratories, cold chains or expensive and complicated equipment. • Easy to use for field testing in under-resourced, rural, disaster/emergency areas
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Incubate at room temperature of 25°C or more
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Operates at different temperatures; Constant temperature control unnecessary
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Check ambient temperature for results in 24–48 hours
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Compact and lightweight, less consumables
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An uneducated person can even take a field test.
The hydrogen sulphide test is used to identify faecal bacteria, some of which are capable of converting organic sulphur to sulphide, which is then converted into hydrogen sulphide gas. By comparing the colour of the water in the test vial to the precipitate formed when this reacts with the reagents in the vial, it is possible to visually detect faecal contamination. However, there is concern that the test may also identify bacteria and the diseases that go along with them that are not related to faecal pollution. In addition, the effectiveness of the hydrogen sulphide test as a predictor of the risk of contracting watery diarrhoea is debatable (Mahfuza et al., 2017). No correlation was identified between diarrhoea and water quality as determined by hydrogen sulphide tests in a prior study conducted in India. However, this cohort had a relatively low rate of diarrhoea (2.4%), and the study also collected water samples and data on disease. Due to the absence of time, reverse causation has the potential to distort the relationship between water quality and sickness. (2017.,Ercumen A., et al.)