ISOLATION OF PATHOGENIC BACTERIA FROM DRINKING WATER OF SCHOOLS’ WELLS AND TANKS IN JALALABAD CITY OF NANGARHAR PROVINCE, AFGHANISTANMOHAMMAD NAZAR FAISAL, NAJIBULLAH RAHIMI, SAYED ATTAUL HAQ BANUREE AND IHSANULLAH SHIRANIAbstract Waterborne illnesses are prevalent and have caused significant loses to the habitants of Nangarhar province. This is due to the lack of knowledge about waterborne pathogens and inaccessibility to safe drinking water. Thus, the present study was conducted to isolate and identify Shigella, Salmonella and E. coli from drinking water of Jalalabad Government and Private schools. Collectively, 300 drinking water samples (150 from wells + 150 from water tanks) of 100 ml were collected from government and private schools, and subjected to microbiological tests for E. coli, Shigella and Salmonella isolation in selected culture medium followed by Gramsâ staining and biochemical confirmation tests. The results revealed that, the prevalence of Shigella, Salmonella and E. coli was 60%, 38%, and 20.7% in wells, and 63.3%, 34%, and 30.7% in water tanks, respectively. The results also depicted that the prevalence of Shigella was associated with deepness of well, and Salmonella and E. coli with distance of well from toilet and authority type of school (p<0.01). Moreover, the prevalence of E. coli and Salmonella were associated with type of tank and authority, and Shigella with type of tank (p<0.01), In conclusion, the drinking water of schools in Jalalabad city is not safe from microbiological point of view and the prevalence of the common waterborne pathogens is significantly associated with studied factors. |