IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0131772.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Microbiological and Chemical Quality of Packaged Sachet Water and Household Stored Drinking Water in Freetown, Sierra Leone

Author

Listed:
  • Michael B Fisher
  • Ashley R Williams
  • Mohamed F Jalloh
  • George Saquee
  • Robert E S Bain
  • Jamie K Bartram

Abstract

Packaged drinking water (PW) sold in bottles and plastic bags/sachets is widely consumed in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and many urban users in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) rely on packaged sachet water (PSW) as their primary source of water for consumption. However, few rigorous studies have investigated PSW quality in SSA, and none have compared PSW to stored household water for consumption (HWC). A clearer understanding of PSW quality in the context of alternative sources is needed to inform policy and regulation. As elsewhere in SSA, PSW is widely consumed in Sierra Leone, but government oversight is nearly nonexistent. This study examined the microbiological and chemical quality of a representative sample of PSW products in Freetown, Sierra Leone at packaged water manufacturing facilities (PWMFs) and at points of sale (POSs). Samples of HWC were also analyzed for comparison. The study did not find evidence of serious chemical contamination among the parameters studied. However, 19% of 45 PSW products sampled at the PWMF contained detectable Escherichia coli (EC), although only two samples exceeded 10 CFU/100 mL. Concentrations of total coliforms (TC) in PSW (but not EC) increased along the supply chain. Samples of HWC from 60 households in Freetown were significantly more likely to contain EC and TC than PSW at the point of production (p

Suggested Citation

  • Michael B Fisher & Ashley R Williams & Mohamed F Jalloh & George Saquee & Robert E S Bain & Jamie K Bartram, 2015. "Microbiological and Chemical Quality of Packaged Sachet Water and Household Stored Drinking Water in Freetown, Sierra Leone," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(7), pages 1-17, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0131772
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0131772
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0131772
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0131772&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0131772?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. E. Ejechi & B. Ejechi, 2008. "Safe drinking water and satisfaction with environmental quality of life in some oil and gas industry impacted cities of Nigeria," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 85(2), pages 211-222, January.
    2. Robert Bain & Ryan Cronk & Jim Wright & Hong Yang & Tom Slaymaker & Jamie Bartram, 2014. "Fecal Contamination of Drinking-Water in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(5), pages 1-23, May.
    3. Justin Stoler & John R Weeks & Richard Appiah Otoo, 2013. "Drinking Water in Transition: A Multilevel Cross-sectional Analysis of Sachet Water Consumption in Accra," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(6), pages 1-11, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Batsirai Majuru & Marc Suhrcke & Paul R. Hunter, 2016. "How Do Households Respond to Unreliable Water Supplies? A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-20, December.
    2. Jim Wright & Mawuli Dzodzomenyo & Nicola A. Wardrop & Richard Johnston & Allan Hill & Genevieve Aryeetey & Richard Adanu, 2016. "Effects of Sachet Water Consumption on Exposure to Microbe-Contaminated Drinking Water: Household Survey Evidence from Ghana," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-17, March.
    3. Mustafa Sikder & Elena N. Naumova & Anthonia O. Ogudipe & Mateo Gomez & Daniele Lantagne, 2021. "Fecal Indicator Bacteria Data to Characterize Drinking Water Quality in Low-Resource Settings: Summary of Current Practices and Recommendations for Improving Validity," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-19, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ashley R Williams & Robert E S Bain & Michael B Fisher & Ryan Cronk & Emma R Kelly & Jamie Bartram, 2015. "A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Fecal Contamination and Inadequate Treatment of Packaged Water," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(10), pages 1-27, October.
    2. Qiting Zuo & Yixuan Diao & Lingang Hao & Chunhui Han, 2020. "Comprehensive Evaluation of the Human-Water Harmony Relationship in Countries Along the “Belt and Road”," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 34(13), pages 4019-4035, October.
    3. Ayse Ercumen & Benjamin F Arnold, 2015. "Upgrading a Piped Water Supply from Intermittent to Continuous Delivery and Association with Waterborne Illness: A Matched Cohort Study in Urban India," Working Papers id:7729, eSocialSciences.
    4. Nunoo, Jacob & Koomson, Isaac & Orkoh, Emmanuel, 2015. "Household Deficiency in Demand for Water: Do Water Source and Travel Time Matter?," MPRA Paper 66007, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Yuke Wang & Christine L. Moe & Peter F. M. Teunis, 2018. "Children Are Exposed to Fecal Contamination via Multiple Interconnected Pathways: A Network Model for Exposure Assessment," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(11), pages 2478-2496, November.
    6. Jonny Crocker & Jamie Bartram, 2014. "Comparison and Cost Analysis of Drinking Water Quality Monitoring Requirements versus Practice in Seven Developing Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-14, July.
    7. Tania Jordanova & Ryan Cronk & Wanda Obando & Octavio Zeledon Medina & Rinko Kinoshita & Jamie Bartram, 2015. "Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene in Schools in Low Socio-Economic Regions in Nicaragua: A Cross-Sectional Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-21, May.
    8. Thi Yen Chi Nguyen & Bamidele Oladapo Fagbayigbo & Guéladio Cissé & Nesre Redi & Samuel Fuhrimann & John Okedi & Christian Schindler & Martin Röösli & Neil Philip Armitage & Kirsty Carden & Mohamed Aq, 2021. "Diarrhoea among Children Aged under Five Years and Risk Factors in Informal Settlements: A Cross-Sectional Study in Cape Town, South Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-18, June.
    9. Paola A. Torres-Slimming & Carlee Wright & Cesar P. Carcamo & Patricia J. Garcia & IHACC Research Team & Sherilee L. Harper, 2019. "Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: A Mixed Methods Study of Health-Related Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) for Indigenous Shawi in the Peruvian Amazon," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-17, July.
    10. Berhanu Wodajo Julla & Abebe Haile & Girma Ayana & Solomon Eshetu & Desalegn Kuche & Tsehai Asefa, 2018. "Chronic Energy Deficiency and Associated Factors among Lactating Mothers (15-49 years old) in Offa Woreda, Wolayita Zone, SNNPRs, Ethiopia," World Scientific Research, Asian Online Journal Publishing Group, vol. 5(1), pages 13-23.
    11. Joseph Okotto-Okotto & Diogo Trajano Gomes da Silva & Emmah Kwoba & Samuel.M Thumbi & Peggy Wanza & Weiyu Yu & Jim A. Wright, 2020. "Effect of Inter-Observer Variation on the Association between Contamination Hazards and the Microbiological Quality of Water Sources: A Longitudinal Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-15, December.
    12. Ernest Acheampong & Mark Swilling & Kevin Urama, 2016. "Sustainable Urban Water System Transitions Through Management Reforms in Ghana," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 30(5), pages 1835-1849, March.
    13. Stefanie Schwemlein & Ryan Cronk & Jamie Bartram, 2016. "Indicators for Monitoring Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene: A Systematic Review of Indicator Selection Methods," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-15, March.
    14. Patrick Ronoh & Claire Furlong & Frank Kansiime & Richard Mugambe & Damir Brdjanovic, 2020. "Are There Seasonal Variations in Faecal Contamination of Exposure Pathways? An Assessment in a Low–Income Settlement in Uganda," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-19, September.
    15. Meimei Wang & Yongchun Yang & Bo Zhang & Mengqin Liu & Qing Liu, 2019. "How Does Targeted Poverty Alleviation Policy Influence Residents’ Perceptions of Rural Living Conditions? A Study of 16 Villages in Gansu Province, Northwest China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-15, December.
    16. Sonia R. Bhalotra & Alberto Diaz-Cayeros & Grant Miller & Alfonso Miranda & Atheendar S. Venkataramani, 2017. "Urban Water Disinfection and Mortality Decline in Developing Countries," Working Papers 467, Center for Global Development.
    17. Amber L. Pearson & Adam Zwickle & Judith Namanya & Amanda Rzotkiewicz & Emiliana Mwita, 2016. "Seasonal Shifts in Primary Water Source Type: A Comparison of Largely Pastoral Communities in Uganda and Tanzania," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-7, January.
    18. Francesca Rubino & Yahaira Corona & José Guadalupe Jiménez Pérez & Charlotte Smith, 2018. "Bacterial Contamination of Drinking Water in Guadalajara, Mexico," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-11, December.
    19. Elham Naseri & Arnaud Igor Ndé-Tchoupé & Hezron T. Mwakabona & Charles Péguy Nanseu-Njiki & Chicgoua Noubactep & Karoli N. Njau & Kerstin D. Wydra, 2017. "Making Fe 0 -Based Filters a Universal Solution for Safe Drinking Water Provision," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-32, July.
    20. Richard King & Kenan Okurut & Jo Herschan & Dan J. Lapworth & Rosalind Malcolm & Rory Moses McKeown & Katherine Pond, 2020. "Does Training Improve Sanitary Inspection Answer Agreement between Inspectors? Quantitative Evidence from the Mukono District, Uganda," Resources, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-17, October.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0131772. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.