Identification and quantification of Escherichia coli from drinking water in Bangladesh

Abstract

This study was undertaken to identify and quantify Escherichia coli from drinking water from the
western part of Bangladesh. Fifty water samples were collected from different regions. The presence of
E. coli was determined on the basis of gas formation in the test tubes after inoculating and incubating
the water samples into the Lactose fermentation broth (LB). A certain amount of the accumulated gas
was used to determine the quantity of the E. coli cell present in the water samples with the help of
Minimum Probable Number (MPN) method. Then the confirmation test was done using Eosin Methylene
Blue agar. Positive isolates were then subjected to the completed test (Gram staining). Among the 50
different water samples, 5 samples were found positive.