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The European Directive 98/83, unlike the previous one, has adopted Cl.perfringens among the ones to be determined in order to control the quality ofwater for human consumption. This Directive establishes 0/100 ml as limit valueof Cl. perfringens in drinking water and the membrane filtration technique asreference method. Because of this, it is unnecessary to accurately quantify thenumbers of indicator bacteria present in a water sample. The aim of this workwas to design and evaluate a fluorogenic culture medium (patent pending)based on the acid phosphatase activity, for the direct detection of Cl.perfringens in water, without the need of a further confirmation of furtherconfirmatory steps.Starting from an initial formula, the diverse selective and differentialcomponents were optimized using Cl. perfringens strains and other speciesfrom the Spanish Collection of Type Cultures (CECT) and isolated from watersamples. Once the components were optimized, assays with axenic strainswere performed in order to evaluate the ability of CMF medium to detect Cl.perfringens in a selective and differential way. The results of these assaysconcluded that the designed medium is specific and selective for Cl.perfringens isolation. In addition, the ability of CMF medium to detect Cl.perfringens in samples of natural water was evaluated, using TSC agar andTSCF agar by filtration membrane technique as reference methods. Theanalysis of the obtained results suggests that CMF is an adequate medium forthe detection of Cl. perfringens in water. Includes 21 references, tables.

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Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 11/02/2003 Number of Pages: 13File Size: 1 file , 290 KB