MICROBIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF QUALITY OF DRINKING WATER IN THE CYCLONE AFFECTED TWIN DISTRICTS IN TAMIL NADU: A PILOT STUDY

Introduction: During cyclone, Human excreta adds to the water bodies causing acute diarrhoeal disease and other waterborne diseases. To prevent Water borne infections, drinking water status should be assessed. Thermo tolerant coliform count is the indicator for drinking water status. The present study was to measure the Thermo tolerant coliform count (TTC) in Vardah cyclone affected areas at Thiruvallur and Kanchipuram districts. Materials and Methods: Water collected from 15 drinking water sources from ?Vardah? cyclone affected areas during one month (from December 2016?January 2017) at Pazhavaerkadu, Budhur from Thiruvallur district and Kannakinagar from Kanchipuram district. TTC was performed by Most Probable Number (MPN) technique. Result: This study results showed the presence of Thermo Tolerant Coliforms in 8 drinking water sources?53.3%. Conclusion: Health awareness should be provided to the rural population. Low cost, rapid analysing tool is helpful to detect E. coli in drinking water. This would be important to consider in waterborne infection prevention programme.