Identification and Comparison of Microbial Load of Different Water Products Available in Ekiti State

The quest for a safe drinking water free from any form of contamination cannot be overemphasized. People around the world do not have safe drinking water and that has resulted into myriad of water borne diseases. A total of twenty-two (22) samples were collected from twelve (12) different brand and subjected to microbiological analysis. From the results obtained, pH of the analyzed samples had ranges from 6.5 to 7.5, which fall within the normal standard range of 6.5 to 8.5. The Fecal coliform count for all products gave 0cfu/ml, which indicates the absence of fecal contamination and the absence of Escherichia coli, the indicator organism under investigation. But other Bacterial isolated includes: Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas spp, Micrococcus luteus, Bacillus smithii, Citrobacter spp, Klebsiella oxytoca, Coagulase negative staphylococci. The above listed organisms are not considered pathogenic in healthy individuals, but in immunodeficient individuals, they are dangerous especially Pseudomonas which have been isolated in gastrointestinal infections, most package water products are expected to be free from fecal contamination, using the MPN testing method, it facilitates the identification of Escherichia coli which is one of the indicator organisms amongst others. The results of this study show that the packaged water products are safe for consumption. The total coliform count showed that the methods used for treatments eliminate coliforms and other heterotrophic organisms to a reasonable extent, since the count were above 10 cfu/ml. Risk of infection cannot be ascertained using colony count alone, rather, it is a measure for the effectiveness of filtration processes and serves as a measure for assessing the hygiene levels observed by each corporation.