Bacterial contamination of raw vegetables, vegetable-related water and river water in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

The study attempts to identify the potential routes of bacterial infection via consumption of raw vegetables, drinking water and vegetable-related water in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). Vegetables in the markets and restaurants had higher total coliforms and E. coli counts than the vegetables at the vege...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water science and technology 2008-01, Vol.58 (12), p.2403-2411
Main Authors: Ha, Nguyen Thi Van, Kitajima, Masaaki, Hang, Nguyen Vo Minh, Matsubara, Koichi, Takizawa, Satoshi, Katayama, Hiroyuki, Oguma, Kumiko, Ohgaki, Shinichiro
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacteria
Bacteria - isolation & purification
Bacterial diseases
Bacterial infections
Canals
Cities
Cultivation
Drinking water
E coli
Enterobacteriaceae - isolation & purification
Environment
Food Contamination
Foodborne diseases
Freshwater
Geography
Harvesting
Microbial contamination
Microorganisms
Restaurants
Risk
Rivers
Rivers - microbiology
Supermarkets
Vegetables
Vegetables - microbiology
Vietnam
Water Microbiology
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Summary:The study attempts to identify the potential routes of bacterial infection via consumption of raw vegetables, drinking water and vegetable-related water in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). Vegetables in the markets and restaurants had higher total coliforms and E. coli counts than the vegetables at the vegetable cultivation fields. In search of the potential contamination sources, it was found that vegetables are washed in nearby canals after harvesting. Those canals are contaminated with human and animal excreta, which in turn may contaminate the vegetables. At the markets, although the tap water was found to be free of microbes, contaminated and non-contaminated vegetables are mixed and washed in the same bowl, which may bring about further spreading of infectious bacteria. The results of this study suggested that an integrated countermeasure that incorporates reducing microbial contamination of canals, raising the awareness of microbial infection among the local farmers and wholesalers, and providing enough clean water to the food markets should be implemented to reduce the incidence of food-borne illness in HCMC.
ISSN:0273-1223
1996-9732
DOI:10.2166/wst.2008.435