Water bottles with bacteria sold at Tirupati

Tirupati, January 9: As we know that, water stored in the plastic bottles is harmful to health. This kind of issue occurred in Tirupati. Recently, The Researchers have found that bottled water being sold in the temple town is contaminated with drug-resistant bacteria.

The water samples were analyzed as part of a regular study. Five of the nine samples tested contained harmful fecal coliform bacteria indicating accidental mixing of human waste with drinking water source.

Researchers from the department of geology, Sri Venkateswara University here, collected packaged water bottles of different brands from retail markets in the town. They conducted a physico-chemical analysis of the samples. They did not find any suspended solids in all the samples.

But when a bacteriological test was conducted they noticed bacterial colonies indicating contamination. The result was published in the recent issue of the World Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

The samples contained bacterial colonies ranging from one to 2,640. The presence of even one E.coli bacterium indicates unsafe handling of water treatment process before or during bottling.

Though there have been several instances of packaged water contaminated with E.coli, the SVU researchers found that the bacterial strains present in the samples have developed resistance to antibiotics.This in other words means, doctors will find it difficult to treat people infected with pathogens.

They also noticed colonies of beneficial bacteria like Enterococcus. Potable water should not contain any micro-organism and the presence of even good bacteria shows that the manufacturers did not follow the standard water purification techniques of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

The researchers warned that potable water should be treated well before bottling in a clean environment. Care should be taken even during transportation and storage to avoid contamination. The quality of material used for the manufacture of bottles should also be good to prevent chemical reactions, the researchers said.