Microbial Freshwater Pollution and the Associated Risks

Microbial fresh water contamination occurs when faecal matters enter the water body. It is a global issue however; it is more severe in the developing countries due to; rapidly growing population and urbanization, land use and development, unhygienic and poor sanitation practices. Faecal matter pollution of fresh water is perhaps the most hazardous form of fresh water pollution since; it constitutes the greatest risk to the ecosystem and to public human health. Ecologically, it disrupts the nutrient load of the water body leading to eutrophication and the consequent production of toxins directly or indirectly affects man and animals especially, live of aquatic organisms. The public health risk is mainly due to the introduction of microbial pathogens whose diseases are associated with serious morbidity and mortality; and some, are capable of spreading rapidly leading to epidemics of varying proportions. In addition to causing diseases, it disseminates virulence and antibiotic resistance genes, which can be transferred to non-pathogenic and non-antibiotic resistant strains or species in the water body, resulting to diseases with less therapeutic options. The human health risked can be assessed by both the observed-adverse-effect-level approach (OAELA) and quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA). This paper thus, reviews risks associated with the use of microbiologically polluted freshwater and concludes that source water protection and point of use treatment measures is the ultimate means of mitigating such risks and should no longer be neglected.