Inflammatory activity as an indicator of water quality: the use of human whole blood cultures.

A rapid whole blood culture (WBC) assay system was developed to monitor the inflammatory potential of water samples collected in the Western Cape, South Africa. Water contaminated with inflammatory substances induced the pro-inflammatory hormone interleukin 6 (IL-6). All water samples collected from the Eerste River, Stellenbosch, induced IL-6 secretion, and the quantity of IL-6 secreted is dependent on the concentration and origin of the sample. The lowest IL-6 inducing activity for river water was obtained for samples collected near the origin of the river. Samples at subsequent points downstream showed an increase in IL-6 inducing activity. Drinking water samples collected from selected towns in the Western Cape showed that there were major differences between the inflammatory potential of the water. Of the 15 samples assayed, 7 had low inflammatory activity, 4 had an intermediate inflammatory activity and 4 had high inflammatory activity. The water sources that have a high inflammatory activity may pose a health risk to consumers.