A Comparative Study of Media for Detection of Enterococci in Water

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Abstract
Water samples (185) were examined for enterococci in 8 different laboratories by 2-tube dilution methods and by a membrane filter procedure. These were azide dextrose (AD) broth with ethyl violet azide (EVA) broth con- firmatory, buffered azide glycerol glucose (BAGG) broth with EVA confirmatory, and M-enterococcus agar. AD-EVA and M-enterococcus agars gave the same order of productivity. BAGG broth gave a lower yield of enterococci in 70.8% of the water specimens tested. M-coliform agar gave lower counts for coliform organisms than the standard tube dilution MPN method. Based upon median ratios of enterococci to coliform bacteria, there were 21% as many enterococci as conforms in the samples of flowing water, 23% as many in impounded water, 42% in wells and 10% in the sewage samples, or ratios of coliforms to enterococci of approximately 5:1, 4:1, 2.5:1 or 10:1 respectively. The statistical independence of these figures was not established. Enterococcus determinations in water should provide valuable supplementary data concerning pollution.

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