title: Drinking water test methods in crisis-afflicted areas: comparison of methods under field conditions.
abstract: To simplify the testing of drinking water in crisis-afflicted areas (as in Kosovo in 2007), rapid test methods were compared with the standard test. For Escherichia coli and coliform pathogens, rapid tests were made available: Colilert(®)-18, P/A test with 4-methylumbelliferyl-β-D-glucoronid, and m-Endo Broth. Biochemical differentiation was carried out by Enterotube™ II. Enterococci were determined following the standard ISO test and by means of Enterolert™. Four hundred ninety-nine water samples were tested for E. coli and coliforms using four methods. Following the standard method, 20.8% (n=104) of the samples contained E. coli, whereas the rapid tests detected between 19.6% (m-Endo Broth, 92.0% concordance) and 20.0% (concordance: 93.6% Colilert-18 and 94.8% P/A-test) positive samples. Regarding coliforms, the percentage of concordant results ranged from 98.4% (P/A-test) to 99.0% (Colilert-18). Colilert-18 and m-Endo Broth detected even more positive samples than the standard method did. Enterococci were detected in 93 of 573 samples by the standard method, but in 92 samples by Enterolert (concordance: 99.5%). Considering the high-quality equipment and time requirements of the standard method, the use of rapid tests in crisis-afflicted areas is sufficiently reliable.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biometry, Epidemiology, and Information Processing, WHO Collaborating Centre-Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Roswitha
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Merle
authors.forename: Ingo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bleul
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schulenburg
authors.forename: Lothar
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kreienbrock
authors.forename: Günter
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Klein
mesh_terms: D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D002960:Civil Disorders; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003470:Culture Media; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000382:microbiology*; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005374:Filtration; D006801:Humans; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D063826:Kosovo; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014881:Water Supply / Q000592:standards*
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D060766:Drinking Water; D007202:Indicators and Reagents