New Method for Tracking E. coli Found

A group of experts announces the development of a new method for tracking down Escherichia coli, one of the most common microorganisms in the human body. At times, the bacteria can act up and cause problems, and so developing method for tracking and detecting it is very important.

Researchers from the Purdue University Calumet, and colleagues from the University of Minnesota in St Paul, decided to take matters into their own hand, and developed a laser-based detection method that is able of finding E. coli in a simple, automated manner.

The technique is bound to help authorities seeking to monitor and clear various bodies of water and waterways of the microbe, which can cause significant public health risks. Many lakes and catchment basins may be contaminated with the microorganism.

According to the paper describing the findings, which is published in the January issue of the esteemed International Journal of Computational Biology and Drug Design, E. coli populations contribute to a rise in the incidence of waterborne disease outbreaks around the world.

“The water quality of lakes, rivers and streams in many areas has long been monitored in the government and other agencies, however, many of them still do not meet the goal of ‘fishable and swimmable’ because identifying the source of bacterial contamination is difficult,” experts write.

The paper, entitled “Laser imaging for rapid Microbial Source Tracking,” was authored by Purdue University expert Bin Chen. He and his group used laser imaging and high-resolution optical scattering image analysis to produce their new detection method.

Then they put the technique to the test, analyzing a sample of water for host species of E. coli. Their method was able to discover the types of microbes that the researchers already knew were in there.

One of the most important implications of the new work is that authorities might soon become able to figure out which waters are infected more rapidly. This could help them develop relevant clean-up programs in due time, and thus decrease the health risk to the general population.

Experts at hte Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) add that, in addition to discovering the microbes, finding the source of the contamination itself is equally as important, Science Blog reports.