Flow Cytometry Application in Water Microbiology: Testing Bacterial Content in Water

Authors: Rubina Pal, Jennifer J. Stewart and Lynette Brown
Flow Contract Site Laboratory, 18323 Bothell Everett Hwy, Suite 110, Bothell, WA 98012

Abstract: Bacteria transmitted through water have been the cause of many fatal outbreaks such as cholera, gastroenteritis and typhoid fever. In developing countries, where access to safe drinking water is severely lacking, water-related diseases infect millions. According to the WHO, each year approximately 3.4 million people, mostly children, die from water-related diseases. In developed countries these diseases are also a common threat. Groundwater is heavily used all over the world as the primary source of drinking water. In the U.S. many people use groundwater obtained from private wells as their drinking water. Several pathogens, such as Salmonella, E.coli and S. faecalis, are stable in groundwater, thus controlling contamination is emphasized and regulated. Here, we show how a simple, yet powerful, technique using BD Cell Viability Kit can evaluate the presence of bacterial contamination in water.