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Microbial and chemical contamination of water, sediment and soil in the Nakivubo wetland area in Kampala, Uganda

Fuhrimann, Samuel ; Stalder, Michelle ; Winkler, Mirko ; Niwagaba, Charles ; Babu, Mohammed ; Masaba, Godfrey ; Kabatereine, Narcis ; Halage, Abdullah ; Schneeberger, Pierre ; Utzinger, Jürg ; Cissé, Guéladio

In: Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2015, vol. 187, no. 7, p. 1-15

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    Titel
    • Microbial and chemical contamination of water, sediment and soil in the Nakivubo wetland area in Kampala, Uganda
    Autor
    • Fuhrimann, Samuel. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, P.O. Box, CH-4002, Basel, Switzerland
    • Stalder, Michelle. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, P.O. Box, CH-4002, Basel, Switzerland
    • Winkler, Mirko. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, P.O. Box, CH-4002, Basel, Switzerland
    • Niwagaba, Charles. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
    • Babu, Mohammed. Department of Research and Development, National Water and Sewerage Corporation, Kampala, Uganda
    • Masaba, Godfrey. Department of Research and Development, National Water and Sewerage Corporation, Kampala, Uganda
    • Kabatereine, Narcis. Vector Control Division, Ministry of Health, Kampala, Uganda
    • Halage, Abdullah. Makerere University School of Public Health, Kampala, Uganda
    • Schneeberger, Pierre. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, P.O. Box, CH-4002, Basel, Switzerland
    • Utzinger, Jürg. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, P.O. Box, CH-4002, Basel, Switzerland
    • Cissé, Guéladio. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, P.O. Box, CH-4002, Basel, Switzerland
    Dokumententyp
    • Postprint
    Sprache
    • Englisch
    Veröffentlicht in
    • Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2015, vol. 187, no. 7, p. 1-15. Springer International Publishing
    Andere elektronische Ausgabe
    OAI-PMH-ID
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:332453
    Summary
    The reuse of domestic and industrial wastewater in urban settings of the developing world may harm the health of people through direct contact or via contaminated urban agricultural products and drinking water. We assessed chemical and microbial pollutants in 23 sentinel sites along the wastewater and faecal sludge management and reuse chain of Kampala, Uganda. Water samples were examined for bacteria (thermotolerant coliforms (TTCs), Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp.) and helminth eggs. Physico-chemical parameters were determined. Water, sediment and soil samples and edible plants (yams and sugar cane) were tested for heavy metals. Water samples derived from the Nakivubo wetland showed mean concentrations of TTCs of 2.9 × 105colony-forming units (CFU)/100mL. Mean E. coli was 9.9 × 104CFU/100mL. Hookworm eggs were found in 13.5% of the water samples. Mean concentrations of iron (Fe), copper (Cu) and cadmium (Cd) were 21.5, 3.3 and 0.14mg/L, respectively. In soil samples, we found a mean lead (Pb) concentration of 132.7mg/L. In yams, concentrations of Cd, chromium (Cr) and Pb were 4.4, 4.0 and 0.2mg/L, while the respective concentrations in sugar cane were 8.4, 4.3 and 0.2mg/L. TTCs and E. coli in the water, Pb in soil, and Cd, Cr and Pb in the plants were above national thresholds. We conclude that there is considerable environmental pollution in the Nakivubo wetland and the Lake Victoria ecosystem in Kampala. Our findings have important public health implications, and we suggest that a system of sentinel surveillance is being implemented that, in turn, can guide adequate responses.