Water and Health Research Centre/Merchant Venturers Building, University of Bristol, BS8 1UB, UK.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2012 May;9(5):1609-25. doi: 10.3390/ijerph9051609. Epub 2012 May 4.
Microbial drinking-water quality testing plays an essential role in measures to protect public health. However, such testing remains a significant challenge where resources are limited. With a wide variety of tests available, researchers and practitioners have expressed difficulties in selecting the most appropriate test(s) for a particular budget, application and setting. To assist the selection process we identified the characteristics associated with low and medium resource settings and we specified the basic information that is needed for different forms of water quality monitoring. We then searched for available faecal indicator bacteria tests and collated this information. In total 44 tests have been identified, 18 of which yield a presence/absence result and 26 of which provide enumeration of bacterial concentration. The suitability of each test is assessed for use in the three settings. The cost per test was found to vary from $0.60 to $5.00 for a presence/absence test and from $0.50 to $7.50 for a quantitative format, though it is likely to be only a small component of the overall costs of testing. This article presents the first comprehensive catalogue of the characteristics of available and emerging low-cost tests for faecal indicator bacteria. It will be of value to organizations responsible for monitoring national water quality, water service providers, researchers and policy makers in selecting water quality tests appropriate for a given setting and application.
微生物饮用水质量检测在保护公众健康的措施中起着至关重要的作用。然而，在资源有限的情况下，这种检测仍然是一个重大挑战。由于有各种各样的测试可用，研究人员和从业者在为特定预算、应用和环境选择最合适的测试方面表示困难。为了协助选择过程，我们确定了与低资源和中资源环境相关的特征，并指定了不同形式的水质监测所需的基本信息。然后，我们搜索了可用的粪便指示细菌测试并整理了这些信息。总共确定了 44 种测试，其中 18 种提供存在/不存在的结果，26 种提供细菌浓度的计数。评估了每种测试在三种环境中的适用性。发现每种测试的单价从存在/不存在测试的 0.60 美元到 5.00 美元不等，从定量格式的 0.50 美元到 7.50 美元不等，尽管它可能只是测试总成本的一小部分。本文首次全面介绍了现有的和新兴的低成本粪便指示细菌测试的特点目录。它将对负责监测国家水质的组织、供水服务提供商、研究人员和政策制定者在为特定环境和应用选择适当的水质测试方面具有价值。
