*Correspondence to: Dr. Bhattacharyya Sayan, Professor, Department of Microbiology, AIIH&PH, Kolkata, India
Received: Oct 03, 2026; Accepted: Oct 16, 2026; Published: Oct 30, 2026
Citation: Sayan B (2026) A Novel Approach for the Detection of Coliforms and Other Pathogenic Bacteria in Drinking Water. Research J Infect Dis Ther 1:102. DOI: https://doi.org/10.61309/rjidt.1000102
Copyright: ©2026 Sayan B. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
ABSTRACT
Drinking water is an essential requirement for human health, but contamination by microorganisms can create a serious public-health risk. Among the most important microbiological indicators of drinking-water quality are total coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli (E. coli), which can indicate contamination from environmental sources or, particularly in the case of E. coli, recent fecal pollution. Conventional microbiological methods are useful but may require considerable time, multiple culture steps, and specialized laboratory facilities. This study proposes the application of a rapid membrane-filtration and differential detection approach for investigating coliforms and selected pathogenic bacteria in 50 drinking-water samples. The proposed approach combines membrane filtration with selective and differential culture media, allowing the detection and enumeration of indicator organisms and facilitating subsequent identification of suspected pathogens. EPA Method 1604, for example, uses membrane filtration and MI medium to simultaneously detect total coliforms and E. coli through enzyme-based reactions and can provide results within approximately 24 hours.
The study design includes the collection of 50 drinking-water samples from different sources, microbiological examination, appropriate positive and negative controls, colony enumeration, and confirmatory identification of suspected bacterial isolates. The principal objective is to determine the microbiological quality of the sampled drinking water and evaluate whether the proposed rapid testing approach can provide useful information about fecal contamination and the potential presence of pathogenic bacteria. The study may also help identify differences in microbiological quality between treated, household-stored, bottled, groundwater, or other drinking-water sources.
Keywords: Drinking water; Coliforms; Escherichia coli; Pathogenic bacteria; Membrane filtration; Microbiological quality; Rapid detection; Water contamination
