Determination of totalcoliform and faecalcoliform bacteria from bathing water with FLUOROCULT-BRILA-broth

The BRILA-MUG one-tube-test in connection with the MPN-method can be used successfully to determine with sufficient reliability the number of indices of total coliforms and faecal coliforms according to the EC-Directive for bathing waters. Using the one-tube-test and determination of gas production, fluorescence and indole production is, from the hygienic point of view for surface waters, equal in value to subculture and biochemical identification. The test needs only a minimum of material and laboratory staff. Differences between this test and other more extensive tests with several biochemical identification steps are negligible. The work load for bathing water monitoring would not be justified in this case. Due to the occurrence of Aeromonas, the values for total coliforms compared to a determination with biochemical identification are higher in some cases. A high contamination with Aeromonas indicates a high polluted surface water with a high degree of eutrophication. This is an important additional criterion for the evaluation of bathing waters, even when a direct dependence on faecal contamination does not exist in every case. The degree of an up-to-date faecal contamination can be estimated by the pollution with faecal coliforms.