32 NEW VISION, Monday, May 4, 2015

HEALTH & BEAUTY

NEW VISION, Monday, May 4, 2015

33

UNBS discovers that passion fruit juice, munanansi sold in Kampala are contaminated by faecal matter

Kampala could face

another food borne
epidemic soon
By Gloria Nakajubi,
Owen Wagabaza
and Billy Rwothungeyo

ITH just sh500 for a glass

of passion fruit juice
packed in a transparent
polythene bag or a used
mineral water bottle, more
Ugandans continue to expose themselves
to water-borne diseases. In addition
to passion fruit juice, food vendors in
Kampala also sell water and pineapple
juice (omunanansi).
VERVE! recently carried out a study in
which samples of the three drinks were
picked from different shops in Kisenyi area,
which was the focal area for the recent
typhoid outbreak in Kampala.
The samples were examined by the
Uganda National Bureau of Standards
(UNBS) for any form of contamination.
Deus Mubangizi, the manager of the
testing department at UNBS, explained
that for all the samples, the microbiological
parameters measured included the
presence of faecal matter; E.coli, a diseasecausing bacteria; and salmonella, a type of
bacteria that cause typhoid, food poisoning,
gastroenteritis or enteric fever.
Mubangizi disclosed that the results show
that the passion fruit juice contained high
amounts of faecal matter and E.coli.
He added that the pineapple juice also
had both E.coli and faecal matter, although
at lower levels than those in the passion
fruit juice.
Mubangizi explained that the low level
of contamination in pineapple juice could
be due to the fact that the juice is boiled.
However, he added that the contamination
most probably happens during the
packaging and other forms of handling,
after the juice has been boiled.
What was surprising in the study was
that the water was found to be safe for
consumption, which could mean that the
vendors boil their water.
Public health specialist Danny Gotto,
who works with Action for Community
Development, said the fact that the juice
contained E.coli and faecal matter, yet the
water from the same area was safe could
mean that contamination happens during
the process of making and packing the
juice.
He noted that the water used in making
the juice could actually be boiled, but
contamination happens at the different
stages of making the juice.
Samples used in our study were at
least 500ml each. It was discovered that
they each contained faecal coliforms
of up to 22, which is way above the
recommended guideline by the World
Health Organisation (WHO) of one faecal
coliform/100ml.

KCCA warns against use of

water from spring wells

Causes of contamination
Gotto says the juice could get
contaminated if the fruits are
not washed or if they are
washed with contaminated
water.
Contamination also
happens if the juice is
made with unboiled
water. Gotto notes that
in most cases, people
who run such
businesses
want to
maximise
profits and,
therefore,
avoid
spending money
on fuel to boil water.
He adds that some
vendors dilute their juice
with unboiled water when
they notice that it is about to
run out.
Such juice also gets
contaminated when the
people preparing it do not
wash their hands properly
or wash the with unsafe
water. Sometimes,
the appliances and
utensils used to
make the juice
are also not
cleaned properly
or cleaned with
unsafe water,
which could lead
to contamination.

Some of the results from UNBS show that the pineapple juice was contaminated

EXPERT OPINION
Some people do not boil drinking
water to the recommended level,
observes Danny Gotto, a public
health specialist.
Gotto explains that due to
differences in atmospheric
pressure between lowlands and
highlands, water at lowlands, such
as Kampala, boils at 700C, while
that at highlands boils at the
standard 1000C. However, since
boiling might not entirely kill all the
micro-organisms, it is advisable
that water is left on for about 15 to
20 more minutes after it has boiled
to ensure that all living organisms
are destroyed.
of the indicator bacteria suggests that
the water sources are contaminated by
sewerage, which puts the residents at a risk
of contracting waterborne diseases.

Wells
contaminated

Prevention of infections

As the experts note, Customers should buy juice from vendors they trust
the first question
should be: Where do
in Kampala was highly contaminated with
faeces meet the foods and drinks?
faecal matter.
Gotto explains that waste disposal in
The WHO recommended guidelines for
Kampala and its suburbs is still a challenge,
bacteriological quality of drinking water
with some communities still using the
is less than 1 faecal coliform per 100ml of
outdated forms such as pit-latrines.
water, and 10 total coliforms per 100ml.
Using pit-latrines increases the risk of
But according to the 2005 study, the
contaminating spring wells, which are a
reliable source of water. For some residents, total coliform counts for the water from
protected springs in Katwe and Kisenyi
spring wells are the only source of water
parishes ranged from three to 80,000
because the water is accessed at no cost,
cfu/100ml. The faecal coliform counts
unlike piped water, which costs between
ranged from one to 60,080 cfu/100ml.
sh200 and sh500, per 20-litre jerry can,
The faecal streptococci levels ranged from
he noted.
0 to 3,000 cfu/100ml.
What is worrying is the fact that for long,
Experts say the situation in Kisenyi and
water in Kisenyi has been contaminated.
Katwe has worsened with the increasing
A study, titled The Quality of Water from
population and yet no major interventions
Protected Springs in Katwe and Kisenyi
have been made.
Parishes, Kampala City, Uganda (2005) by
Rukia Haruna, et al, discovered that water
According to the report, the presence

According to the experts, there is an urgent

need for community sensitisation on basic,
yet practical healthy lifestyle practices, such
as boiling drinking water and washing
hands after visiting the toilet, and before
handling food.
Hakim Sendagire, a microbiologist and
lecturer at Makerere University department
of microbiology, explains that boiling water
has been proved to kill almost all diseasecausing pathogens in water.
He also urges the public to use the
proven cost-effective alternatives of killing
germs in drinking water since most people
cannot afford the cost of fuel needed for
boiling drinking water.
These include procedures such as solar
disinfection.
In a 2012 study, titled Solar water
disinfection: A review from bench-top to
roof-top by Kevin G. McGuigan, Ronan M.
Conroy and et al, solar water disinfection

Oral-faecal infections

CCORDING to Hakim
Sendagire, a microbiologist and
lecturer at Makerere University
department of microbiology, a
number of infections can be transmitted
through consuming contaminated food
or drinks.
Public health specialist Danny Gotto
notes that there are people who are
carriers of the different disease-causing
bacteria.
He adds that it is from such people that
contaminated faecal matter originates.
Such people can spread the bacteria if
they do not wash their hands properly
after visiting the toilet and then they
handle food, hence contaminating it.
When such food or drinks are consumed,
they might cause an outbreak of diseases,
such as the recent outbreak of typhoid in
Kampala and the neighbouring areas.
Such diseases are referred to as oral
faecal infections. The name implies that
microbes (viruses, bacteria or parasites)
are spread from human or animal waste
to ones mouth.
Oral-faecal infections include common
ones such as:
* Cholera
* Hepatitis A, E
* Typhoid fever
* Polio
Others are:
is defined as a technique that consists of
placing water into transparent plastic or
glass containers, which are then exposed
to the sun.
Exposure times, according to the review,
vary from six to 48 hours, depending on
the intensity of sunlight and sensitivity of
the pathogens.
The germicidal effect of this method is
based on the combined effect of thermal
heating of solar light and UV radiation.
It has been repeatedly shown to
be effective for eliminating microbial

Gastroenteritis
This is an intestinal infection and
it presents with symptoms such as
diarrhoea, cramps, nausea, vomiting, and
fever.

Rotavirus infection
It is characterised by diarrhoea,
dehydration and vomiting.

Clostridium difficile infection

The infection presents with watery
diarrhoea, dehydration and cramps.

Giardiasis infection
Symptoms of this infection include
nausea, fatigue, loss of appetite, vomiting
and abdominal cramps.
Sendagire explains that the amount of
contaminated drink one can take to get
infected (infectious dose) varies from one
condition to another.
Some pathogens, for example, those that
cause cholera, can start off an infection
with only a small number of cells, while
others, such as those that cause typhoid,
need to be much to cause an infection.
This means that the infectious dose
for cholera is low and someone can get
infected after being exposed to just a
small amount of germs. For typhoid, one
would need to get exposed to a high
amount of germs to contract the disease.
pathogens and reduces diarrheal morbidity,
including cholera, states the study.
According to Gotto, it is important for
people who suffer from food borne or
waterborne diseases to ensure that they
adhere to the prescribed medication so as
to ensure complete healing and prevent
remaining carriers.
He also advises that the fruits and
containers used in making juice should
be washed with clean water to avoid
contamination that occurs during handling
and preparation.

AMPALA Capital City Authority

(KCCA) spokesperson Peter
Kaujju says they also carried
out tests in collaboration with
the health ministry and discovered that
some of the juice sold in Kampala is
contaminated with faeces and other
disease-causing organisms.
KCCA recently closed down several
buildings in the city because they were
using underground water, which was
said to be contaminated.
The proprietors of the buildings were
using water from underground to avoid
paying National Water and Sewerage
Corporation bills. KCCA officials say
the unsafe water from the underground
sources contributed to the increase in
the cases of typhoid that have been
registered in the city over the past few
months.
We only opened the buildings after
confirming that they have reverted to
using safe water from National Water
and Sewerage Corporation, said Kaujju.
He also advised residents against using
water from springs because it is not
safe. Kaujju disclosed that KCCA has
continuously discouraged people from
using water from springs, but with little
success.
We are working with National Water
and Sewerage Corporation to ensure that
all people in Kampala have access to safe
water so that they stop depending on
spring wells, said Kaujju.
The suburbs being targetted include
Kisenyi, Katwe, Kivulu, Katanga, Kiyaye
and Kimombasa.
The recent update on the status
of typhoid in the city as given by
KCCAs director of public health and
environment, David Serukka, showed
that at least 10,973 people had received
typhoid treatment from various health
facilities across the city since the
outbreak was reported in February.
KISENYI RESIDENTS COMPLAIN
ABOUT DIRTY WATER SOURCE

Ashraf Keita
We live by Gods
mercy. Our well is
dirty and the water we
drink can easily get
contaminated. Kisenyi is
also overpopulated
and the well is the only
reliable source of water.
KCCA should come to our
rescue and renovate the well. If possible,
they should build for us another one.

Geoffrey Busobozi
Most people in this
place, including those
who sell drinks, get
their water from the
well. So, we are not
sure whether they boil
it or not. But the well is
dirty and if something
is not done in time, we
might have an outbreak
of cholera, even before we manage to
control the typhoid.

Hosea Taremwa
The people in this
area are unhygienic.
No one cares to
keep the water safe.
Residents dispose of
waste in the trenches,
which eventually
flows into the well.

People afflicted with emotional difficulties may be susceptible to

depressive symptoms due to Facebook social comparison

Facebook linked to depression

By Melissa Carroll

these associations.
The concept of social
HE social
comparison is not new.
Findings suggest
media site,
In fact, it has been
amount of time
Facebook, can
studied in face-to-face
be an effective
contexts since the
spent and social
tool for con1950s.
comparison on
necting with new and
However, engaging in
Facebook impacts
old friends. However,
social comparisons on
mental health
some users may find
online social media sites
themselves spending
may make people feel
quite a bit of time vieweven worse.
ing Facebook and may inevitably begin One danger is that Facebook often
comparing what is happening in their
gives us information about our
lives to the activities and accomplishfriends that we are not normally
ments of their friends.
privy to, which gives us even more
According to University of Houston
opportunities to socially compare,
researcher Mai-Ly Steers, this kind
Steers said. You cant really control the
of social comparison, paired with the
impulse to compare because you never
amount of time spent on Facebook,
know what your friends are going to
may be linked to depressive symptoms. post.
Steers research is presented in
In addition, most of our Facebook
the article, Seeing Everyone Elses
friends tend to post about the good
Highlight Reels: How Facebook Usage
things that occur in their lives,
is Linked to Depressive Symptoms
while leaving out the bad. If were
published in the Journal of Social and
comparing ourselves to our friends
Clinical Psychology.
highlight reels, this may lead us to
Although social comparison procthink their lives are better than they
esses have been examined at length
actually are and conversely, make us
in traditional contexts, the literature
feel worse about our own lives.
is only beginning to explore social
Steers said people afflicted with emocomparisons in online social networktional difficulties may be particularly
ing settings, said Steers, a doctoral
susceptible to depressive symptoms
candidate in social psychology.
due to Facebook social comparison
Steers conducted two studies to
after spending more time on the
investigate how social comparison to
medium.
peers on Facebook might impact users
For already distressed individuals,
psychological health. Both studies prothis distorted view of their friends lives
vide evidence that Facebook users felt
may make them feel alone in their
depressed when comparing themselves internal struggles, which may comto others.
pound their feelings of loneliness and
It doesnt mean Facebook causes
isolation.
depression, but that depressed feelThis research and previous research
ings and lots of time on Facebook and
indicates the act of socially comparing
comparing oneself to others tend to go
oneself to others is related to long-term
hand in hand, said Steers.
destructive emotions.
The first study found an association
Any benefit gained from making
between time spent on Facebook and
social comparisons is temporary
depressive symptoms for both genders. and engaging in frequent social
However, the results demonstrated
comparison of any kind may be linked
that making Facebook social comparito lower wellbeing, said Steers.
sons mediated the link between time
Steers hopes the results of the
spent on Facebook and depressive
studies will help people understand
symptoms for men only.
that technological advances often
Similarly, the second study found a
possess both intended and unintended
relationship between the amount of
consequences.
time spent on Facebook and depresFurther, she hopes her research will
sive symptoms was mediated by social
help guide future interventions that
comparisons on Facebook. Unlike the
target the reduction of Facebook use
first study, gender did not moderate
among those at risk for depression.

KEY FINDING