The Perception of Water Quality and Related Diseases in Rural Areas of the Department of Tiassalé, Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa

Abstract

One of critical public health concerns in many developing countries today is water quality and the risks associated with waterborne diseases. Many research works that have studied about factors contributing to water pollution have not considered the perception on drinking water quality and health risk in the rural area of the department of Tiassalé. This study therefore focuses on evaluating the level of perception of households living in the rural area of Tiassalé. The study data were collected through interviews from a total of 600 respondents with structured questionnaire. The majority of the respondents (78.2%) used water from hand dug wells for drinking purpose. According to 77.7 % of respondents, water from the wells was safe for drinking. Around 9.3% had a degree of knowledge about the sources of well water contamination. Majority of the respondents (87.3 %) did not treat their water. About 80% of residents mentioned that they had not experienced any negative effects from drinking the well water. Variables associated with perception of drinking water quality included educational status, use of at least one method

Ethnobotanical and Socio-economic Value of Blighia sapida (K.D. Koenig) in Togo

“…Its fruit is toxic, especially when consumed at an early stage of maturation. Indeed, the consumption of the unripe fruit of this plant has been the cause of many deaths in children due to the high concentration (1000 ppm) of hypoglycine A [8].…”

“…Several studies have been conducted in Togo and elsewhere on the virtues of nutraceutical plants, but the ethnobotanical survey and the scientific work carried out in Togo and in the subregion on B. sapida are almost non-existent. Nevertheless, some work has been carried out on B. sapida, particularly on the physicochemical composition of the arils of this plant in Côte d'Ivoire [8]. Because of its importance for the Togolese population and the harmful effects generated especially by the immature arils, it is therefore urgent to carry out an ethnobotanical and socioeconomic study to discover the real therapeutic and food potential of B. sapida in order to expand and deepen knowledge of its use, and subsequent more sustainable management.…”