Central African Journal of Public Health 2021; 7(3): 136-143 http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/cajph doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20210703.17 ISSN: 2575-5773 (Print); ISSN: 2575-5781 (Online) Physico-Chemical and Bacteriological Characteristics of Hand-Dug Wells and Boreholes Water Quality of the Vina Division, Cameroon Simeon Pierre Chegaing Fodouop 1, 3, * , Steve Francky Sohanang Nodem 2 , Larissa Nsuh 1 , Patrice Kamga Bogne 2 , Guide Lonang Djomsi 1 , Hierry Marcel Ntsamo Beumo 2 , Didiane Yemele Mefokou 1, 3 1 Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Ngaoundere, Ngaoundéré, Cameroon 2 Department of Food Science and Nutrition, National Advanced School of Agro-Industrial Sciences, University of Ngaoundere, Ngaoundere, Cameroon 3 Sunshine Laboratory of Research and Biomedical Analysis, Ngaoundere, Cameroon Email address: To cite this article: Simeon Pierre Chegaing Fodouop, Steve Francky Sohanang Nodem, Larissa Nsuh, Patrice Kamga Bogne, Guide Lonang Djomsi, Hierry Marcel Ntsamo Beumo, Didiane Yemele Mefokou. Physico-Chemical and Bacteriological Characteristics of Hand-Dug Wells and Boreholes Water Quality of the Vina Division, Cameroon. Central African Journal of Public Health. Vol. 7, No. 3, 2021, pp. 136-143. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20210703.17 Received: March 10, 2021; Accepted: March 27, 2021; Published: June 15, 2021 Abstract: Background: Limited access to safe drinking water and lack of information on water quality in the sub-urban and rural regions of Cameroon has contributed to regular outbreaks of diarrheal diseases. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the bacteriological quality of drinking water in the Vina division. Methods: A total of 193 water samples were collected from unprotected boreholes, unprotected wells and unprotected clay pots and analyzed physico-chemically including pH, turbidity, total dissolved solid, conductivity and microbiologically such as enumeration of Enterococcus sp., Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp. and Vibrio sp using standard methods. This study revealed that safe status of the groundwater sources in the Vina division is very poor, considering the high levels of E.coli, Enterococcus sp. and the presence of enter pathogens microorganism such as Vibrio sp., Salmonella sp. and Shigella sp. Representative isolates (26) based on biochemical profile were selected for antibio resistance profile. All selected bacteria exhibited multiple antibiotic resistance at least for five antibiotics including ampicillin, amoxicillin + Clavulanic acid, amoxicillin, penicillin, erythromycin. Conclusion: This study suggests that drinking water available in Vina division of Cameroon lead to a substantial risk to public health. It is therefore necessary to developed strategies for protection of areas around drinking water supplies site. Further studies are therefore needed to assess the prevalence of water borne diseases in Vina division. Keywords: Water Quality, Bacteriological, Physico-chemical, Antibiotic, Rural Communities, Vina 1. Introduction Water availability has always been of great importance for human beings [1]. Recently, the United Nations stated that safe and clean drinking water is a human right [2]. In 2015, about 2.1 billion people lacked access to safely managed drinking water services and more than 1.8 billion people consume drinking water from a contaminated source [3, 4]. Rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa account for more than 50% of those lacking potable water [5, 6]. Most of these communities, therefore rely on unimproved drinking-water supply sources such as springs, boreholes, wells, and rivers to meet fundamental needs such as drinking, sanitation, and cooking and for their sustainable development [4, 6–9]. These unimproved sources are mainly polluted by prevailing environmental factors, human activities and microbial pathogens originating from the intestinal tract of humans. [10] Microbial pathogens such as Vibrio cholerae, Shigella, Salmonella, Campylobacter jejuni, Klebsiella, which