Oxoid has launched its water plate count agar, a medium to permit the enumeration of culturable micro-organisms from water using a colony count technique
Oxoid Water Plate Count Agar (Water PCA) is used to count micro-organisms that are able to grow and form colonies during aerobic incubation at 36C and 22C.
Such total colony counts are a good indication of water quality and provide useful information for assessment and surveillance purposes.
This medium may be used for assessing the integrity of ground water sources and for monitoring the efficiency of water treatment processes such as coagulation, filtration and disinfection.
It can also provide an indication of the cleanliness and integrity of the distribution system.
In addition, Oxoid Water PCA may be used to assess the suitability of a water supply for the preparation of food or drink, in order to avoid contaminating the product with harmful or spoilage micro-organisms.
Whatever the application, the detection of higher than expected levels of culturable micro-organisms in the water (based on frequent, long term monitoring) can provide an early warning of serious pollution and calls for immediate further investigation, as outlined in ISO 6222:1999 (E) Water Quality.
In addition to plate counting and enumeration media, the Oxoid range of water testing products includes media and diagnostic kits for the selective growth and detection of coliforms (including E coli) and pathogens, such as E coli O157, Legionellae, Salmonellae, Shigellae and Vibrios.
