Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development | 01.1 | 2011
Comparison and verification of four field-based microbiological tests: H2S test, Easygel®, Colilert®, PetrifilmTM
Patty Chuang, Stephanie Trottier and Susan Murcott
The UN defines water supplies as ‘improved’ or ‘unimproved.’ These indicators are easy to measure, but do not reflect water quality, which requires laboratory or field tests. Laboratory and test availability, expense and technical capacity are obstacles for developing countries. This research compares and verifies four low-cost, field-based microbiological tests: the EC-Kit (Colilert® and Petrifilm™ tests), the H2S bacteria test, and Easygel®, against a standard method (Quanti-Tray®).
