Groundwater and Waterborne Diseases in Tropical Urban Areas

Water is a vital resource and its poor quality can be induced by anthropogenic activities, notably pollution, as well as poor sanitation and hygiene of water sources that can cause waterborne diseases. The objective of this study was to determine risk factors associated with groundwater quality and the frequency of waterborne diseases in the urban tropical zone of the city of Yaoundé. To do this, we conducted a cross-sectional, observational study from August to March 2018 among 53 households in the Simbock locality located in the city of Yaoundé. The samples (2 boreholes, 5 wells, 1 spring) were collected for the laboratory of environmental biotechnology of the University of Yaoundé I. There, bacteriological and physico-chemical analyses were performed. Although most of the households surveyed treated the water before use, water-borne diseases were noted. Water-borne diseases were observed. The groundwater in the Simbock district constitutes a health risk for human consumption because of its bacteriological characteristics, which are well above the values recommended by the WHO standard.