Survival of bifid bacteria in water as compared with that of coliform bacteria and enterococci.

It has been suggested recently (Mossel, 1958) that the bifid bacteria (usually referred to as Lactobacillus bifidus in the literature) may be suitable indicators of fecal contamination of foods and/or waters. The feces of man and certain animals are rich sources of these organisms (Haenel, 1956; Haenel and Miller-Beuthow, 1956) which, so far as is known, do not grow in other natural environments. The specificity of the bifid bacteria as indicators of fecal pollution, and, accordingly, the significance of their occurrence and numbers in foods and waters may depend largely upon their extraenteral survival, particularly as compared with the survival of other bacteria of intestinal origin, for example, coliforms and enterococci. In the study reported here such a comparison was made with regard to the survival in water under different conditions, and the data may thus provide information relevant to the evaluation of the suitability of the bifid bacteria as indicators of fecal pollution in water.