Bacterial community assessment of drinking water and downstream distribution systems in highland localities of Ecuador.

Bacterial communities in drinking water provide a gauge to measure quality and confer insights into public health. In contrast to urban systems, water treatment in rural areas is not adequately monitored and could become a health risk. We performed 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to analyze the microbiome present in the water treatment plants at two rural communities, one city, and the downstream water for human consumption in schools and reservoirs in the Andean highlands of Ecuador. We tested the effect of water treatment on the diversity and composition of bacterial communities. A set of physicochemical variables in the sampled water was evaluated and correlated with the structure of the observed bacterial communities. Predominant bacteria in the analyzed communities belonged to Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria. The Sphingobium genus, a chlorine resistance group, was particularly abundant. Of health concern in drinking water reservoirs were Fusobacteriaceae, Lachnospiraceae, and Ruminococcaceae; these families are associated with human and poultry fecal contamination. We propose the latter families as relevant biomarkers for establishing local standards for the monitoring of potable water systems in highlands of Ecuador. Our assessment of bacterial community composition in water systems in the Ecuadorian highlands provides a technical background to inform management decisions.

Informal caregiving: perceived needs.

With the increasing population of persons over the age of 65 who need daily assistance in Spain, there is considerable need to better understand informal caregivers' views, particularly about the resources that are available to them, or should be available to them. With that purpose in mind, a grounded theory method was used with focus groups in Barcelona, Malaga, Seville, and Tenerife. All of the participants were caring for family members with dementia, cancer, or other neurodegenerative conditions. The findings generated 86 codes, which were grouped into two categories: understanding the experience of caregiving, and caregiving resources. The first category was the need for caregivers to talk about their experiences and to be listened to. The second category included the presence of resources and support requirements. The caregivers said that their ability as caregivers was limited; many did not know what resources were available or how to locate new resources. Many caregivers are carrying out their role dutifully, but feel isolated, suggesting that there is a lack of social understanding and policies about informal caregivers in Spain.