Standard Media for Sulfite-Reducing Anaerobes (Clostridium) Water Testing

Clostridium perfringens plays a subsidiary role in water examination as they form spores, which allow them to survive longer than coliforms, E. coli or Enterococci and are consequently used as an indicator of past fecal pollution. The spores are not always inactivated by chlorination but are not a hazard to health in drinking water. C. perfringens is the most important of the sulfite reducing Clostridia and is normally present in human and animal feces. A wide range of Clostridium species may therefore be present in environmental samples such as surface water and have to be monitored in drinking water.