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Comparison of methods for the enumeration of Clostridium perfringens spores in water

Valéria Christina Amstalden Junqueira1, Romeu Cantúsio Neto, Neusely da Silva

  • 1Food Technology Institute, ITAL. Avenida Brasil, Jardim Chapadão, SP, Brazil.

Water Science and Technology : a Journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research
|January 12, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Comparing water testing methods for Clostridium perfringens spores, the Lactose Sulfite (LS), m-CP, and Tryptose Sulfite Cycloserine (TSC) methods yielded significantly lower results than the standard Differential Reinforced Clostridium Medium (DRCM) method.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Environmental Science
  • Water Quality Analysis

Background:

  • Accurate enumeration of Clostridium perfringens spores in water is crucial for assessing water safety and treatment efficacy.
  • Several microbiological methods exist for C. perfringens spore detection, but their comparative performance requires rigorous evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate and compare the performance of four different methods (IMM, LS, m-CP, TSC) for enumerating Clostridium perfringens spores in water.
  • To determine the equivalence of these methods against the standard Differential Reinforced Clostridium Medium (DRCM) method used by CETESB.

Main Methods:

  • Four methods were evaluated: Iron Milk Medium (IMM) (MPN), Lactose Sulfite Broth (LS) (MPN), m-CP (membrane filtration), and TSC (membrane filtration).
  • Performance comparison was conducted against the Differential Reinforced Clostridium Medium (DRCM) (MPN) method.
  • Statistical analysis followed ISO 17994:2004 guidelines for establishing equivalence between microbiological methods.

Main Results:

  • The LS, m-CP, and TSC methods yielded significantly lower results compared to the DRCM method, indicating non-equivalence.
  • The IMM method produced inconclusive results, necessitating further analysis with a larger sample size to establish equivalence with DRCM.

Conclusions:

  • The LS, m-CP, and TSC methods are not equivalent to the DRCM method for enumerating C. perfringens spores in water due to consistently lower counts.
  • Further research is required to validate the IMM method's performance and its equivalence to the DRCM standard.

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