2024 article

Enteric Pathogens in Humans, Domesticated Animals, and Drinking Water in a Low-Income Urban Area of Nairobi, Kenya

Daly, S. W., Chieng, B., Araka, S., Mboya, J., Imali, C., Swarthout, J. M., … Harris, A. R. (2024, November 26). Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 11.

By: S. Daly  n, B. Chieng *, S. Araka *, J. Mboya*, C. Imali*, J. Swarthout *, S. Njenga *, A. Pickering *, A. Harris n 

MeSH headings : Kenya; Drinking Water / microbiology; Animals; Humans; Feces / microbiology; Animals, Domestic; Poverty; Escherichia coli / isolation & purification; Water Microbiology; Dogs
topics (OpenAlex): Child Nutrition and Water Access; Viral gastroenteritis research and epidemiology; Fecal contamination and water quality
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Source: ORCID
Added: November 26, 2024

To explore the sources of and associated risks with drinking water contamination in low-income, densely populated urban areas, we collected human feces, domesticated animal feces, and source and stored drinking water samples in Nairobi, Kenya in 2019; and analyzed them using microbial source tracking (MST) and enteric pathogen TaqMan Array Cards (TACs). We established host-pathogen relationships in this setting, including detecting <i>Shigella</i> and Norovirus─which are typically associated with humans─in dog feces. We evaluated stored and source drinking water quality using indicator <i>Escherichia coli</i> (<i>E. coli</i>), MST markers, and TACs, detecting pathogen targets in drinking water that were also detected in specific animal feces. This work highlights the need for further evaluation of host-pathogen relationships and the directionality of pathogen transmission to prevent the disease burden associated with unsafe drinking water and domestic animal ownership.