Coliphage Presence in Various Types of Potable Water in Thailand

Abstract

Three types of drinking water used in Thailand, tap water, rain water and deep well water (200 m) were tested for bacteriological and coliphage content. 13.5% of the samples contained only coliphage and 13% contained both coliphage and total coliforms. The incidence of coliphage in these potable water supplies reflect the probability of human pathogenic virus also surviving in these waters. The H2S paper-strip test was found to be an equally sensitive indicator of coliform presence compared to MF and MPN total coliform procedures.

H2S paper strip method – a bacteriological test for faecal coliforms in drinking water at various temperatures

“…The hydrogen sulphide paper strip method (H S Method) was developed for testing water.in case of an emergency when frequent testing of large numbers of samples becomes essential. The method has the advantage that it is less expensive, can give a faster result, could be carried out by a local person after being trained and was found to have a good correlation with the standard methods when tested in different parts of the world (Castillo et al, 1994;Grant and Ziel, 1996;Hewison et al, 1988;Kromoredjo and Fujioka, 1991;Ratto et al, 1989;Sivaborvorn and Dutka, 1989). A higher percentage of positive samples noted with the H 2 S method was suggested to be due to non-Enterobacteriacea such as Clostridium perfringens.…”