Syed Waasif Shoukat, Said Akbar Khan, Muhammad Ishtiaq, Inayat Shah, Syed Umair Ullah Jamil, Tahseenullah Khan.
Bacteriological assessment of drinking water of Rawalakot district, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan.
Khyber Med Uni Med J Jan ;11(4):222-5.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the bacteriological quality of drinking water sources of District Rawalakot, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. METHODS: After approval from the Ethical Review Committee of Bahria University Islamabad; this cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in Rawalakot District from September 2017 to March 2018. Out of 90 samples, 45 samples (15 each from bore-well, open-well & spring water) were collected in September & October 2017 as pre-rainfall seasons samples and 45 samples were collected in post-rainfall season of February & March 2018, exactly from the same 45 sites from which pre-rainfall water samples were collected. All the samples were analyzed for total bacterial, total coliforms, E.Coli, Shigella and Salmonella Species. RESULTS: Overall bacterial growth on Nutrient Agar was more commonly observed in samples from Bore-well (n=11/15; 73.33%) during pre-rainfall season and in open-well samples (n=12/15; 80%) during post-rainfall season. Total coliforms growth on MacConkey agar was more frequent in post- rainfall season in samples from spring-water (n=9/15; 60%). On eosin methyl blue agar, majority (n=5/15; 33.33%) of E. Coli growth was observed during post-rainfall season in spring water samples. Almost all of the post-rainfall season samples revealed less number of Shigella and Salmonella species compared to pre-rainfall water samples. CONCLUSION: The post-rainfall season drinking water samples of bore wells, open wells and spring water showed higher number of bacteriological contaminations except Shigella and Salmonella species which were reduced in post-rainfall samples of bore-wells and revealed equal numbers among open-wells and spring water samples.

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