The Use of Bacteriophages for Monitoring the Microbiological Quality of Sewage Sludge

Autor: M. Lambiri, A. Vatopoulos, Fotis Rigas, A. Mavridou, G. Mandilara
Rok vydání: 2006
Předmět:
Zdroj: Environmental Technology. 27:367-375
ISSN: 1479-487X
0959-3330
DOI: 10.1080/09593332708618657
Popis: The use of bacteriophages as potential indicators of faecal pollution has recently been studied. The correlation of the number of bacterial indicators and the presence of three groups of bacteriophages, namely somatic coliphages (SOMCPH), F-RNA specific phages (FRNAPH) and phages of Bacteroides fragilis (BFRPH), in raw and treated sludge is presented in this study. Raw and anaerobically digested sewage sludge samples from two wastewater treatment plants in Athens were collected on a monthly basis, over a 2-year period, and analyzed for total coliforms, E. coli, intestinal enterococci and the three groups of bacteriophages. A clear correlation between the number of bacterial indicators and the presence of bacteriophages was observed. E. coli concentrations ofor =10(3) cfus g(-1) and10(3) cfus g(-1) comprise a threshold for the presence of FRNAPH and BFRPH, respectively. Likewise, intestinal enterococci concentrations ofor =10(4) cfus g(-1) and10(3) cfus g(-1) comprise a threshold for the presence of FRNAPH and BFRPH, respectively. In the case of SOMCPH, it was not possible to define a threshold, since they were detected with the lowest observed indicator concentrations in all samples.
Databáze: OpenAIRE