[Investigation of bacteria in drinking water in a rural village in North East Thailand].

We have investigated whether or not drinking water plays a major role in the cause of infectious diseases, especially gastrointestinal infectious diseases, in North East Thailand. This investigation was conducted twice, each time for three months period, that is from September 1983 through December 1983 and from November 1984 through January 1985. Since it was not easy to obtain suitable diagonostic facilities including diagnostic instruments and reagents at the Thai village, we used modified simple methods as described below, in order to identify bacteria in the water under field conditions. 1. Using test paper for identifying contamination with coliform. 2. Using polyethylene bag with powder of media for enrichment. 3. Using agar which does not need sterilization. 4. Using kits for identifying. 5. Incubating bacteria in room temperature (without incubater). Almost all of the drinking water in the village house was contaminated with coliform. Aeromonas hydrophila, non-01 Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio fluvialis were also isolated from drinking water in the village. These results indicated that drinking water at Thai villages can be a couse of the gastrointestinal tracts. At the same time, it suggests that the modified simple method applied in this investigation is a reliable technique for the identification of bacteria in drinking water.