Bacteriological Analysis of Sachet Water Sold at Adamawa State University, Mubi Commercial

Access to safe drinking water remains a persistent public health challenge across Nigeria. For many, especially in urban and academic communities, sachet water has become the primary source of drinking water. Yet, questions about its quality and adherence to safety standards linger. This study assessed the bacteriological quality and safety of sachet water sold at Adamawa State University, Mubi Commercial. We specifically looked for faecal contamination, identified the bacteria present, and determined their resistance to common antibiotics. Twelve sachet water samples from two brands were collected. The Most Probable Number (MPN) technique was used to estimate faecal coliform levels. Bacteria were isolated using standard culture methods on Nutrient Agar and identified through a combination of cultural, morphological, and biochemical characteristics. Antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates against 14 antibiotics was then tested using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. The results were striking. Physically, all samples (100%) failed to meet essential NAFDAC labeling requirements. Bacteriologically, 10 out of 12 samples (83.33%) were contaminated with faecal coliforms specifically Escherichia coli with MPN values ranging from 7 to 20 per 100ml. From these, we isolated 28 bacterial isolates: E. coli was most common (71.43%), followed by Staphylococcus aureus (21.43%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (7.14%). Perhaps more worrying was the antimicrobial resistance profile. The E. coli isolates, for instance, were uniformly resistant to Augmentin, while all S. aureus isolates showed resistance to Erythromycin. These findings suggest that much of the sachet water sold here is contaminated with faecal matter and other bacteria, making it unfit for drinking. The added dimension of multidrug-resistant bacteria only compounds the public health risk.