Health Risks Related to the Water Quality in the Obili Fish Pond

A study aimed at evaluating the health risks of the water used for fish farming in the Obili pond was carried out in January 2021. The variables retained for this work were measured according to standard protocols and are of meteorological order (brightness, air temperature and humidity); physicochemical (water temperature, pH, TDS, color, turbidity, suspended matter, dissolved oxygen, carbon dioxide, electrical conductivity, alkalinity, total hardness, nitrites, nitrates, ammonium, phosphates and potassium) and biological (bacteria, protozoa and helminths). The results obtained show acidic water, weakly saturated with oxygen, nutrients (nitrogen, phosphates and potassium) on one hand and on the other hand highly charged with solid particles. Mesophilic heterotrophic aerobic bacteria (92.5%) constitute the most abundant group of bacteria. Escherichia coli is found only at the entrance to the pond and contributes 1% of the bacterial density. The protozoan community is dominated by coccidia (43%) and amoeba (41%). Cryptosporidium parvum is the most dominant species of coccidia while Entamoeba histolytica dominates in amoeba with 370 oocysts / L and 244 cysts / L, respectively. Nematodes occupy 2/3 of the helminth community and are dominated by Ascaris (240 eggs / L). Diphyllobotrhium latrum shows the highest density in cestodes (572 eggs / L). The presence of these pathogenic organisms at densities above the standards constitutes a real health risk for the use of this water in fish farming. These parasites can directly infect fish farmers through skin penetration or concentrate on the integument and or flesh of fish and infect humans when consumed.