Fast and easy methods for the detection of coliphages

Abstract

Somatic and F-specific coliphages are gaining ground as indicators of fecal/viral pollution. Guidelines and regulations worldwide for monitoring water, biosolids and food are including them as parameters to assess quality and treatment efficiency. Robust methods to detect and quantify both groups of phages in water samples have been launched by agencies such as the International Standardization Organization (ISO) and the USA Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Although these methods have proved readily implementable in routine microbiology laboratories, faster and more user-friendly protocols will be highly welcome if coliphage detection becomes routine in water quality analysis. We here provide an overview of new approaches seeking to facilitate the detection of infectious coliphages included in guidelines and regulations. The improvements achieved suggest that streamlined kits able to provide results in a few hours at very reasonable costs will become available in the near future. The potential of molecular procedures and methods based on microelectronic sensors is also briefly discussed.

Keywords: Bacteriophages; Coliphages; Fecal pollution; Indicator; Water quality.