Applicability of Easy-to-use Escherichia coli Test Strip for Community Development Program on Drinking Water Safety

Akira Kikuchi1,2, Fitria Nurul Mutmainah2, Romaidi2, Siti Nur Hafizah Soid1, Musa Mutah Lalai3

1Institute for Environemtal and Water Resource Management, Water Research Alliance, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia;

2Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universitus Islam Negeri malang, Malang, Indonesia;

3National Center for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Nigeria

Email: kikuchiakira@hotmail.com

ABSTRACT

In many developing countries, people consume shallow groundwater and river water for drinking and other daily water consumptions in the country side. The monitoring of pathogens in daily water sources is needed for effective problem mitigation. However, it is impossible adequately to tackle the demand of water quality monitoring by standard methods due to high cost for sample analysis. Hence, a strategy that accept wider flexibility was accommodated. Subsequently, an easy-to-use E. coli contamination check kit was applied in this research. The aim of this study was to examine the applicability of the easy-to-use E. coli testing technique to make tailor-made locally affordable water quality information by non specialist. An exploratory survey was performed taking example in an annual community development program by Universitus Islam Negeri Malang, Indonesia. Dempok hamlet, East Java, Indoneisa was the community where the field work was performed. The E. coli test strip was easy-to-use, and also fun-to-use. A baseline data for E. coli contamination was successfully collected by only nonspecialist without any laboratory facility. The data indicated general moderate level E. coli contamination in villagers‟ daily consuming water (2< E. coli CFU <10 /mL). The device of E. coli contamination test kit took unique role as a communication support tool between students and villagers in the community development program. The methodological advantage was potential to generate assimilated water quality data for E. coli contamination with local ecosystem process, people‟s feeling for water demands, and local knowledge. Toward the next step, a potential device was designed to implement affordable E. coli testing capacity in community development programs.

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