Evaluation of 'Bacteroides' as Indicator Bacteria in Drinking Water

摘要

The research project is concerned with the development of more rapid and sensitive procedures to determine the quality of drinking water. The specific objective of the project was to evaluate the use of a new group of indicator bacteria for assessing fecal contamination of drinking water. The bacteria considered for the study are the human intestinal species of the genus of anaerobic bacteria, Bacteroides. These occur in much higher concentrations in the human than do the coliform bacteria that are currently used as indicator organisms, and they can be detected by serological procedures that are amenable to rapid and sensitive assay. Thus this group appears to offer an ideal alternative to current methodology.