The quality of water used for the cleaning fresh vegetables sold in Cameroonian cities is of little concern. The objective of this study was to determine the health risk associated with the water use for washing fruits and vegetables in the city of Dschang, in order to help develop strategies for the control waterborne diseases in Cameroon in general and in Dschang in particular. After a survey of 75 vegetable vendors in the Dschang market, 40 samples of washing water, 20 per season, were collected randomly throughout the main market in the city of Dschang. Physicochemical, bacteriological and parasitological analyses were carried out according to standard methods. Regardless of the season, bacteria indicative of faecal contamination were detected in the water used for washing fresh vegetables, with levels ranging from 0 to 8×104 CFU/100ml for Escherichia. coli, from 1.8×104 to 1.8×108 CFU/100ml for faecal coliforms, from 3×104 to 7.2×108 CFU/100ml for Salmonella spp., from 30 to 1.3×107 CFU/100ml for Shigella spp. and 20 to 7.5×105 CFU/100ml for faecal streptococci. Ascaris spp. eggs, Entamoeba spp. cysts and nematode larvae were detected in vegetable washing water, with a prevalence of 40%. Consumers of fresh vegetables washing by these waters, if raw and poorly washed, are at risk of bloody diarrhoea, gastroenteritis, typhoid and paratyphoid fever or inflammation of the colon tissue and severe necrosis. The authorities should introduce food hygiene in the markets as part of the strategies to combat waterborne diseases in this city. This solution is also valid for other cities in Cameroun.
Published in | Journal of Health and Environmental Research (Volume 8, Issue 1) |
DOI | 10.11648/j.jher.20220801.11 |
Page(s) | 1-8 |
Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
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Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Vegetables Sold, Washing Water Quality, Health Risk, Dschang, Cameroon
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APA Style
Honorine Ntangmo Tsafack, Joseline Azeufack, Simeon Kenfack, Steve Joko Tamouf, Auberlin Meli Tchoffo, et al. (2022). Physicochemical, Bacteriological and Parasitological Quality of Water Used to Wash Vegetables in Dschang, West Cameroon: Health Risk Assessment. Journal of Health and Environmental Research, 8(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jher.20220801.11
ACS Style
Honorine Ntangmo Tsafack; Joseline Azeufack; Simeon Kenfack; Steve Joko Tamouf; Auberlin Meli Tchoffo, et al. Physicochemical, Bacteriological and Parasitological Quality of Water Used to Wash Vegetables in Dschang, West Cameroon: Health Risk Assessment. J. Health Environ. Res. 2022, 8(1), 1-8. doi: 10.11648/j.jher.20220801.11
AMA Style
Honorine Ntangmo Tsafack, Joseline Azeufack, Simeon Kenfack, Steve Joko Tamouf, Auberlin Meli Tchoffo, et al. Physicochemical, Bacteriological and Parasitological Quality of Water Used to Wash Vegetables in Dschang, West Cameroon: Health Risk Assessment. J Health Environ Res. 2022;8(1):1-8. doi: 10.11648/j.jher.20220801.11
@article{10.11648/j.jher.20220801.11, author = {Honorine Ntangmo Tsafack and Joseline Azeufack and Simeon Kenfack and Steve Joko Tamouf and Auberlin Meli Tchoffo and Frigerald Foming Tonssie and Franck Wamba and Emile Temgoua}, title = {Physicochemical, Bacteriological and Parasitological Quality of Water Used to Wash Vegetables in Dschang, West Cameroon: Health Risk Assessment}, journal = {Journal of Health and Environmental Research}, volume = {8}, number = {1}, pages = {1-8}, doi = {10.11648/j.jher.20220801.11}, url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jher.20220801.11}, eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jher.20220801.11}, abstract = {The quality of water used for the cleaning fresh vegetables sold in Cameroonian cities is of little concern. The objective of this study was to determine the health risk associated with the water use for washing fruits and vegetables in the city of Dschang, in order to help develop strategies for the control waterborne diseases in Cameroon in general and in Dschang in particular. After a survey of 75 vegetable vendors in the Dschang market, 40 samples of washing water, 20 per season, were collected randomly throughout the main market in the city of Dschang. Physicochemical, bacteriological and parasitological analyses were carried out according to standard methods. Regardless of the season, bacteria indicative of faecal contamination were detected in the water used for washing fresh vegetables, with levels ranging from 0 to 8×104 CFU/100ml for Escherichia. coli, from 1.8×104 to 1.8×108 CFU/100ml for faecal coliforms, from 3×104 to 7.2×108 CFU/100ml for Salmonella spp., from 30 to 1.3×107 CFU/100ml for Shigella spp. and 20 to 7.5×105 CFU/100ml for faecal streptococci. Ascaris spp. eggs, Entamoeba spp. cysts and nematode larvae were detected in vegetable washing water, with a prevalence of 40%. Consumers of fresh vegetables washing by these waters, if raw and poorly washed, are at risk of bloody diarrhoea, gastroenteritis, typhoid and paratyphoid fever or inflammation of the colon tissue and severe necrosis. The authorities should introduce food hygiene in the markets as part of the strategies to combat waterborne diseases in this city. This solution is also valid for other cities in Cameroun.}, year = {2022} }
TY - JOUR T1 - Physicochemical, Bacteriological and Parasitological Quality of Water Used to Wash Vegetables in Dschang, West Cameroon: Health Risk Assessment AU - Honorine Ntangmo Tsafack AU - Joseline Azeufack AU - Simeon Kenfack AU - Steve Joko Tamouf AU - Auberlin Meli Tchoffo AU - Frigerald Foming Tonssie AU - Franck Wamba AU - Emile Temgoua Y1 - 2022/01/12 PY - 2022 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jher.20220801.11 DO - 10.11648/j.jher.20220801.11 T2 - Journal of Health and Environmental Research JF - Journal of Health and Environmental Research JO - Journal of Health and Environmental Research SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2472-3592 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jher.20220801.11 AB - The quality of water used for the cleaning fresh vegetables sold in Cameroonian cities is of little concern. The objective of this study was to determine the health risk associated with the water use for washing fruits and vegetables in the city of Dschang, in order to help develop strategies for the control waterborne diseases in Cameroon in general and in Dschang in particular. After a survey of 75 vegetable vendors in the Dschang market, 40 samples of washing water, 20 per season, were collected randomly throughout the main market in the city of Dschang. Physicochemical, bacteriological and parasitological analyses were carried out according to standard methods. Regardless of the season, bacteria indicative of faecal contamination were detected in the water used for washing fresh vegetables, with levels ranging from 0 to 8×104 CFU/100ml for Escherichia. coli, from 1.8×104 to 1.8×108 CFU/100ml for faecal coliforms, from 3×104 to 7.2×108 CFU/100ml for Salmonella spp., from 30 to 1.3×107 CFU/100ml for Shigella spp. and 20 to 7.5×105 CFU/100ml for faecal streptococci. Ascaris spp. eggs, Entamoeba spp. cysts and nematode larvae were detected in vegetable washing water, with a prevalence of 40%. Consumers of fresh vegetables washing by these waters, if raw and poorly washed, are at risk of bloody diarrhoea, gastroenteritis, typhoid and paratyphoid fever or inflammation of the colon tissue and severe necrosis. The authorities should introduce food hygiene in the markets as part of the strategies to combat waterborne diseases in this city. This solution is also valid for other cities in Cameroun. VL - 8 IS - 1 ER -