Identification of Bacteria in Rainwater Samples From Makana Local Municipality in South Africa.

Abstract

ABSTRACT. -Identification of Bacteria in Rainwater Samples From Makana Local Municipality in South Africa. Climate change has been linked to the changes in the rates of diarrhoeal infectious diseases in the Southern African subcontinent. This leads to the increased significance of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in public health in countries like South Africa. A study was conducted to identify bacteria providing a positive signal in the improved hydrogen-sulphide test kit. This was accomplished using the API20E test kit and the APIWEB database. Results of the bacterial identification show that 52 % of all bacterial species isolated from the faecally-contaminated samples were identified as Enterobacter cloacae. Seventeen percent of strains were identified as Serratia liquefaciens and 4 % as Enterobacter amnigenus. Finally, 30 % of the bacterial strains could not be identified. These are all potential human pathogens, if the sampled rainwater is used for potable purposes. Therefore treatment must be implemented before the water is used for potable purposes. Regular microbial water quality monitoring should also be performed using citizen science and some relevant approaches are proposed.