Detection and Occurrence of Indicator Organisms and Pathogens

Membrane filtration, multiple tube fermentation, and chromogenic substrate techniques for the detection of coliforms and Escherichia coli are discussed and outlined in the most recent edition of Standard Methods (Eaton et al., 1995). While these methods remain the mainstay of microbiological water q...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water environment research 1996-01, Vol.68 (4), p.406-416
Main Authors: Baker, Katherine H., Bovard, Debrah S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacteriophages
Fecal coliforms
Measurement of Pollutants
Potable water
Product category rules
Sea water
Surface water
Viruses
Water pollution
Water quality
Water samples
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Summary:Membrane filtration, multiple tube fermentation, and chromogenic substrate techniques for the detection of coliforms and Escherichia coli are discussed and outlined in the most recent edition of Standard Methods (Eaton et al., 1995). While these methods remain the mainstay of microbiological water quality determinations, there has been significant research into the development and evaluation of alternative, rapid techniques for the detection of both the traditional indicators of water quality (total and fecal coliforms and E. coli) and alternative indicator organisms and opportunistic pathogens. Tillett (1995) reviewed the statistical basis of the Most-Probable-Number (MPN) technique, paying particular attention to the distribution pattern used to calculate the MPN. Better results were obtained when occupancy theory was used to generate MPN values than when the traditional Poisson or binomial distributions were used. Sidorowicz and Whitmore (1995) reviewed the MF and MPN methods for the detection and enumeration of total coliforms, fecal coliforms and E. coli. They concluded that while the accuracy of the current methods is satisfactory, the time lags associated with the tests necessitate the development of more rapid techniques.
ISSN:1061-4303
1554-7531
DOI:10.2175/106143096X135263