Vegetables contain vital ingredients such as minerals, phytochemicals, vitamins, and fibers, which play significant roles in human health. Consumption of fresh vegetables causes human infections and outbreaks while serving as a reservoir of several pathogens. The study evaluated the microbiological quality of raw vegetables consumed in and around Fiche town, Central Ethiopia. For the experimental study, a total of 100 samples of 5 different raw vegetables from two local markets were selected based on their commonalities for overall microbial quality in terms of aerobic mesophilic count, total coliform count, Enterobacteriaceae count, Staphylococci count, and yeast and mold levels. The highest count was aerobic mesophilic bacteria (5.7 log CFU/g) followed by Enterobacteriaceae (4.7 log CFU/g), while yeasts and molds count the least. The maximal count for aerobic mesophilic bacteria was enumerated in cabbage (6.4 log CFU/g) while the minimum was in green pepper samples (4.7 log CFU/g). Among 100 vegetable samples analyzed, 11% were contaminated by S. aureus which is highly prevalent in cabbage (20%), followed by lettuce (15%). In the present study, 15.0% of vegetable samples were positive for Salmonella and detected in all vegetable types.

The problem of drinking water quality is common in developing countries. While a piped water supply is available in many parts of Fiche, Ethiopia, the water may be contaminated in the distribution system and thus, continuous quality assessment is required to ensure safe drinking water for the community. Instrumental and spectrophotometric methods were used to analyze the chemical characteristics including dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, chloride, fluoride, nitrate, nitrite, sulfate, ammonia, iron and manganese. The weighted arithmetic water quality index method was applied to assess the water's quality rating. The chemical characteristics of the tap water's annual range was; temperature between 19.4 and 20.0°C, pH between 6.8 and 7.6, DO between 4.5 and 6.1 mg/L, ammonia between 0.01 and 0.2 mg-NH3/L, nitrate between 1.1 and 1.8 mg-NO3/L, nitrite between 0.003 and 0.06 mg-NO2/L, 2.0 and 19.1 mg-SO42−/L, chloride between 10.07 and 30.0 mg-Cl−/L, manganese between 0.003 and 0.003 mg-Mn/L, iron between 0.01 and 0.03 mg-Fe/L. The WQIs for the reservoir and tap water were 25.031 and 40.676, respectively, so the tap water is rated ‘good’ for drinking.

Drinking water is the major source of bacteria pathogens in developing countries along with poor sanitation and contamination of food with a pathogen. More than half of the population of the country uses unimproved sanitation facilities while 36% of them practiced open defecation. The aim of the study was to investigate the suitability of public water for drinking. The study is designed to include a survey of 90 respondents and experimental analysis of 170 water samples from households and reservoirs. Water quality parameters, such as temperature, electrical conductivity, turbidity, total dissolved solids, and bacteriological parameters like total coliforms (TC) and fecal coliforms (FC) were determined. Many of the respondents (88.8%) remarked that the water has no smells, tastes, and color. The experimental analysis confirmed that temperature (19.7 °C), electrical conductivity (269.63 μS/cm), turbidity (1.17 NTU), and total dissolved solids (134.3 mg/L) were found below the prescribed limit of World Health Organization guidelines for drinking water. Total coliforms (9.29 CFU/100 mL) and fecal coliforms (5.07 CFU/100 mL) were detected from pipe water sources during the wet season showing non-compliance with the guidelines. The reservoir samples were free from bacterial contamination. The main point of drinking water contamination was the household where unsafe water handling practice was a common habit in the study area. Hence, awareness conception training on safe water handling practices is highly recommended for the communities.