Evaluation of an Inexpensive Growth Medium for Direct Detection of Escherichia coli in Temperate and Sub-Tropical Waters.
The cost and complexity of traditional methods for the detection of faecal indicator bacteria, including E. coli, hinder widespread monitoring of drinking water quality, especially in low-income countries and outside controlled laboratory settings. In these settings the problem is exacerbated by the...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2015-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4619692?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1819069888651591680 |
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| author | Robert E S Bain Claire Woodall John Elliott Benjamin F Arnold Rosalind Tung Robert Morley Martella du Preez Jamie K Bartram Anthony P Davis Stephen W Gundry Stephen Pedley |
| author_facet | Robert E S Bain Claire Woodall John Elliott Benjamin F Arnold Rosalind Tung Robert Morley Martella du Preez Jamie K Bartram Anthony P Davis Stephen W Gundry Stephen Pedley |
| author_sort | Robert E S Bain |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The cost and complexity of traditional methods for the detection of faecal indicator bacteria, including E. coli, hinder widespread monitoring of drinking water quality, especially in low-income countries and outside controlled laboratory settings. In these settings the problem is exacerbated by the lack of inexpensive media for the detection of E. coli in drinking water. We developed a new low-cost growth medium, aquatest (AT), and validated its use for the direct detection of E. coli in temperate and sub-tropical drinking waters using IDEXX Quanti-Tray®. AT was compared with IDEXX Colilert-18® and either EC-MUG or MLSB for detecting low levels of E. coli from water samples from temperate (n = 140; Bristol, UK) and subtropical regions (n = 50, Pretoria/Tshwane, South Africa). Confirmatory testing (n = 418 and 588, respectively) and the comparison of quantitative results were used to assess performance. Sensitivity of AT was higher than Colilert-18® for water samples in the UK [98.0% vs. 86.9%; p<0.0001] and South Africa [99.5% vs. 93.2%; p = 0.0030]. There was no significant difference in specificity, which was high for both media (>95% in both settings). Quantitative results were comparable and within expected limits. AT is reliable and accurate for the detection of E. coli in temperate and subtropical drinking water. The composition of the new medium is reported herein and can be used freely. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T16:57:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-817ab101642c49cfb7e105749200b0bd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T16:57:12Z |
| publishDate | 2015-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-817ab101642c49cfb7e105749200b0bd2022-12-21T18:56:44ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032015-01-011010e014099710.1371/journal.pone.0140997Evaluation of an Inexpensive Growth Medium for Direct Detection of Escherichia coli in Temperate and Sub-Tropical Waters.Robert E S BainClaire WoodallJohn ElliottBenjamin F ArnoldRosalind TungRobert MorleyMartella du PreezJamie K BartramAnthony P DavisStephen W GundryStephen PedleyThe cost and complexity of traditional methods for the detection of faecal indicator bacteria, including E. coli, hinder widespread monitoring of drinking water quality, especially in low-income countries and outside controlled laboratory settings. In these settings the problem is exacerbated by the lack of inexpensive media for the detection of E. coli in drinking water. We developed a new low-cost growth medium, aquatest (AT), and validated its use for the direct detection of E. coli in temperate and sub-tropical drinking waters using IDEXX Quanti-Tray®. AT was compared with IDEXX Colilert-18® and either EC-MUG or MLSB for detecting low levels of E. coli from water samples from temperate (n = 140; Bristol, UK) and subtropical regions (n = 50, Pretoria/Tshwane, South Africa). Confirmatory testing (n = 418 and 588, respectively) and the comparison of quantitative results were used to assess performance. Sensitivity of AT was higher than Colilert-18® for water samples in the UK [98.0% vs. 86.9%; p<0.0001] and South Africa [99.5% vs. 93.2%; p = 0.0030]. There was no significant difference in specificity, which was high for both media (>95% in both settings). Quantitative results were comparable and within expected limits. AT is reliable and accurate for the detection of E. coli in temperate and subtropical drinking water. The composition of the new medium is reported herein and can be used freely.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4619692?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Robert E S Bain Claire Woodall John Elliott Benjamin F Arnold Rosalind Tung Robert Morley Martella du Preez Jamie K Bartram Anthony P Davis Stephen W Gundry Stephen Pedley Evaluation of an Inexpensive Growth Medium for Direct Detection of Escherichia coli in Temperate and Sub-Tropical Waters. PLoS ONE |
| title | Evaluation of an Inexpensive Growth Medium for Direct Detection of Escherichia coli in Temperate and Sub-Tropical Waters. |
| title_full | Evaluation of an Inexpensive Growth Medium for Direct Detection of Escherichia coli in Temperate and Sub-Tropical Waters. |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of an Inexpensive Growth Medium for Direct Detection of Escherichia coli in Temperate and Sub-Tropical Waters. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of an Inexpensive Growth Medium for Direct Detection of Escherichia coli in Temperate and Sub-Tropical Waters. |
| title_short | Evaluation of an Inexpensive Growth Medium for Direct Detection of Escherichia coli in Temperate and Sub-Tropical Waters. |
| title_sort | evaluation of an inexpensive growth medium for direct detection of escherichia coli in temperate and sub tropical waters |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4619692?pdf=render |
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