Evaluation of drinking water quality and waterborne disease prevalence in children at Shah di Khoi, Lahore, Pakistan

Abstract

This study examines the relationship of drinking water sources with the consequential health issues in children regarding incidence and prevalence of waterborne diseases like, Typhoid, Cholera, Hepatitis A & E, Diarrhea Dermatitis and Worm infestation in Shah di Khoi, Lahore, Pakistan. Primary data sources such as drinking water samples, and questionnaire field survey were used to examine the pollution of drinking water and its health effects upon children aging less than 5 years. The field survey was conducted from June to August 2018 and 350 households were visited in the study area and were inquired about their sources of drinking water, water quality related issues and any prevalence of waterborne disease among children during the survey period. The common drinking water sources were local bore water and water fetched from filtration plants. Water samples were collected from the households where sick children were found and were tested for physical parameters including pH value, total hardness, total dissolved solids and electrical conductivity; and microbiological parameters such as total coliforms and Escherichia coli. The results of tested water samples for physical parameters were found well within the permissible ranges of the World Health Organization (WHO) standards. However, microbial contamination was found in few samples of local bore water and filtration plant. The most common diseases found in children were Cholera, Diarrhea, Typhoid, Hepatitis A and E, etc. The field observations confirm that most of the drinking sources were affected by bacterial contamination and was resulting in the incidence of waterborne infections among children in the study area. This study suggests for future laboratory investigations to assess the water quality, and to correlate waterborne diseases to responsible factors on larger scale through geospatial maps using modern techniques based on Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographical Information System (GIS). This will also help determine other environmental factors playing role in the disease incidence within the region and surrounding areas.