Assessing the Occurrence of Host-Specific Faecal Indicator Markers in Water Systems as a Function of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Practices: A Case Study in Rural Communities of Vhembe District Municipality, South Africa.

ABSTRACT: In settings where humans and animals closely coexist, the introduction of faecal material into unprotected water sources significantly increases the risk of contracting diarrhoeal and zoonotic waterborne diseases. The data were gathered from a survey conducted through interviews at randomly sampled villages; additionally, water samples were collected in randomly selected households and their associated feeder catchments. Molecular techniques were used, specifically qPCR, to run host-specific Bacteroides microbial source tracking (MST) assays for human, cattle, pig, chicken and dog faecal contamination. Unexpectedly, the qPCR assays revealed dogs to be the most prevalent (40.65%) depositor of faecal matter in unprotected surface water, followed by humans (40.63%); this finding was co

SUBMITTER: Mothiba DP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10819538 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature