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Drinking Water from Dug Wells in Rural Ghana — Salmonella Contamination, Environmental Factors, and Genotypes

Author

Listed:
  • Denise Myriam Dekker

    (Research Group Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Bernhard-Nocht-Straße 74, Hamburg 20359, Germany)

  • Ralf Krumkamp

    (Research Group Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Bernhard-Nocht-Straße 74, Hamburg 20359, Germany
    German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Hamburg-Borstel-Lübeck, Bernhard-Nocht-Straße 74, Hamburg 20359, Germany)

  • Nimako Sarpong

    (Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research, Kumasi, Ghana)

  • Hagen Frickmann

    (Department of Tropical Medicine, German Armed Forces Hospital of Hamburg, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Bernhard-Nocht-Straße 74, Hamburg 20359, Germany
    Institute for Medical Microbiology, Virology and Hygiene, University Hospital Rostock, Schillingallee 70, Rostock 18057, Germany)

  • Kennedy Gyau Boahen

    (Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research, Kumasi, Ghana)

  • Michael Frimpong

    (Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research, Kumasi, Ghana)

  • Renate Asare

    (Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research, Kumasi, Ghana)

  • Richard Larbi

    (Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research, Kumasi, Ghana)

  • Ralf Matthias Hagen

    (Department of Tropical Medicine, German Armed Forces Hospital of Hamburg, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Bernhard-Nocht-Straße 74, Hamburg 20359, Germany)

  • Sven Poppert

    (Justus-Liebig-University Gießen, Rudolf-Buchheimstraße 6, Gießen 35392, Germany)

  • Wolfgang Rabsch

    (Robert Koch Institute, FG11, National Reference Centre for Salmonella and other Bacterial Enteric Pathogens, Burgstraße 37, Wernigerode 38855, Germany)

  • Florian Marks

    (International Vaccine Institute, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-742, South Korea)

  • Yaw Adu-Sarkodie

    (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Accra Road, Kumasi, Ghana)

  • Jürgen May

    (Research Group Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Bernhard-Nocht-Straße 74, Hamburg 20359, Germany
    German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Hamburg-Borstel-Lübeck, Bernhard-Nocht-Straße 74, Hamburg 20359, Germany)

Abstract

Salmonellosis is an important but neglected disease in sub-Saharan Africa. Food or fecal-oral associated transmissions are the primary cause of infections, while the role of waterborne transmission is unclear. Samples were collected from different dug wells in a rural area of Ghana and analyzed for contamination with bacteria, and with Salmonella in particular. In addition, temporal dynamics and riks factors for contamination were investigated in 16 wells. For all Salmonella isolates antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed, serovars were determined and strains from the same well with the same serovar were genotyped. The frequency of well water contamination with Gram-negative rod-shaped bacteria was 99.2% (n = 395). Out of 398 samples, 26 (6.5%) tested positive for Salmonella spp. The serovar distribution was diverse including strains not commonly isolated from clinical samples. Resistance to locally applied antibiotics or resistance to fluoroquinolones was not seen in the Salmonella isolates. The risk of Salmonella contamination was lower in wells surrounded by a frame and higher during the rainy season. The study confirms the overall poor microbiological quality of well water in a resource-poor area of Ghana. Well contamination with Salmonella poses a potential threat of infection, thus highlighting the important role of drinking water safety in infectious disease control.

Suggested Citation

  • Denise Myriam Dekker & Ralf Krumkamp & Nimako Sarpong & Hagen Frickmann & Kennedy Gyau Boahen & Michael Frimpong & Renate Asare & Richard Larbi & Ralf Matthias Hagen & Sven Poppert & Wolfgang Rabsch &, 2015. "Drinking Water from Dug Wells in Rural Ghana — Salmonella Contamination, Environmental Factors, and Genotypes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-12, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:12:y:2015:i:4:p:3535-3546:d:47395
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Hawa Ahmed & Maria Zolfo & Anita Williams & Jacklyne Ashubwe-Jalemba & Hannock Tweya & Wisdom Adeapena & Appiah-Korang Labi & Lady A. B. Adomako & Gloria N. D. Addico & Regina A. Banu & Mark O. Akrong, 2022. "Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in Drinking Water from the Greater Accra Region, Ghana: A Cross-Sectional Study, December 2021–March 2022," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-13, September.
    2. Samuel Dorevitch, 2015. "Health Effects of Waterborne Contaminants: A Focus on Emerging Concerns," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-3, October.
    3. Jiahang Li & Meiyue Ding & Ziming Han & Jincai Ma, 2018. "Persistence of Salmonella Typhimurium in Well Waters from a Rural Area of Changchun City, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-13, May.

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