Evaluation and Adaptation of a Membrane Filter Technique for Detection of Clostridium perfringens. Alan Foster and Mary Rankin, Adolph Coors Company, Golden, CO 80401. J. Am. Soc. Brew. Chem. 47:0070, 1989.

The indictor microorganisms currently accepted for the detection of human fecal contamination in industrial wastewater are fecal coliforms in conjunction with fecal streptococci. As a secondary indicator, C. perfringens may have some advantages over these when the sample is from a harsh environment, i.e., industrial waste, chlorinated water, or wastewater, because it has the ability to form spores that survive these types of environments. Although C. perfringens has been evaluated as an indicator microorganism by several researchers, the methodology historically available for its isolation limited its use. We evaluated water from two wastewater treatment plants over three months using the membrane filter technique for the isolation and enumeration of C. perfringens as developed by Bisson and Cabelli in 1979 and found this microorganism to be useful as a secondary indicator of human fecal contamination in industrial wastewater.

Keywords: Clostridium perfringens, Coliform, Fecal streptococci, Industrial wastewater