| dc.description.abstract | Water contamination is one of the major causes of water borne diseases worldwide. In Kenya, approximately 43%
of people lack access to potable water due to human contamination. River Kuywa water is currently experiencing
contamination due to human activities. Its water is widely used for domestic, agricultural, industrial and
recreational purposes. This study aimed at characterizing bacteria and fungi in river Kuywa water. Water samples
were randomly collected from four sites of the river: site A (Matisi), site B (Ngwelo), site C (Nzoia water pump)
and site D (Chalicha), during the dry season (January-March 2018) and wet season (April-July 2018) and were
transported to Maseno University Microbiology and plant pathology laboratory for analysis. The characterization
and identification of bacteria and fungi were carried out using standard microbiological techniques. Nine
bacterial genera and three fungi were identified from Kuywa river water. Clostridium spp., Staphylococcus spp.,
Enterobacter spp., Streptococcus spp., E. coli, Klebsiella spp., Shigella spp., Proteus spp. and Salmonella spp.
Fungi were Fusarium oxysporum, Aspergillus flavus complex and Penicillium species. Wet season recorded
highest bacterial and fungal counts (6.61-7.66 and 3.83-6.75cfu/ml) respectively. The results indicated that the
river Kuywa water is polluted and therefore unsafe for human consumption before treatment. It is therefore
recommended that the communities to ensure that they boil water especially for drinking. | en_US |
