Factors associated with bacteria detection in water in the coastal areas, Southern Thailand

Abstract

Water-borne diseases have been important health and public health issue in southern Thailand. The major reason, that consumption water was polluted with microorganisms that exceed the standard and discovered outbreaks of water-borne disease on an ongoing basis. The investigation of factors affecting bacterial contamination in water was critical and must be completed as urgent. Water quality data were gathered from the Department of Medical Sciences' annual reports at two Public Health Areas (PHA): PHA 11 (RMSC 11, RMSC 11/1) or upper south and PHA 12 (RMSC 12, RMSC 12/1) or lower South. Environmental data such as meteorological (air temperature and rainfall), was collected from yearly statistics, National Statistical Office for 21 years (2002 to 2022). PHA, RMSC, provinces of production, years of production, water types, bacterium types, air temperature, and rainfall were the determinant variables. Bacterial contamination exceeding the standard was the outcome. The association was analyzed by using a chi-square test and used the multiple logistic regression model to predict the probability of detection of bacterial contamination above the standard. The ROC curve was used to evaluate the model's performance. The results from this study showed that the location and year of manufacture were factors influencing TCB contamination higher than standard in sealed container drinking water in Thailand's southern region. PHA 11 was more likely to be contaminated with bacteria than PHA 12. The model's prediction performance was 63% accurate. The overall investigation discovered that PHA, years of manufacture, water types, air temperature, and rainfall were the factors associated with the contamination of four types of bacteria that exceeded the criterion. All those factors were risking the detection of TCB and E. coli. PHA and water types impacted Salmonella spp., whereas only water types were affecting S. aureus. The model's prediction performance was 61, 68, 76, and 81 percent accurate, respectively. PHA 11 found more bacterial contaminants than PHA 12. When reviewing the spatial data by the province in PHA 11, it was found that Chumphon province had the highest probability of bacterial contamination that exceeded the standard. The pollution was maximum in 2022. The most susceptible to bacterial contamination was the consumption water. The most detectable kind of bacteria is TCB. The level of pollution was also discovered to vary with increasing rainfall and the model's prediction performance was 82% accurate. According to the findings of the study, PHA, RMSC, provinces, years of production, water types, bacterium types, air temperature levels, and rainfall levels had influenced the prevalence and bacterial contamination in southern Thailand, which exceeds the standard. As a result, for consumer protection, producers and allied authorities must monitor, manage, and implement procedures to control water quality from production to consumer delivery. To make sure that, it is not affected by the site of production, the environment, or variations in meteorological conditions such as air temperature, rainfall, and season, among others.