coliform bacteria

coliform bacteria
Rod-shaped bacteria usually found in the intestinal tracts of animals, including humans.

Coliform bacteria do not require but can use oxygen, and they do not form spores. They produce acid and gas from the fermentation of lactose sugar. Their presence in the water supply indicates recent contamination by human or animal feces. Chlorination is the most common preventive water treatment.

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 microorganisms that usually occur in the intestinal tract of animals, including man, and are the most widely accepted indicators of water quality in the United States. More precisely they are evidence of recent human fecal contamination of water supplies.

      The coliforms are facultative anaerobic (not requiring oxygen), nonsporulating, rod-shaped bacteria that produce acid and gas from the fermentation of lactose sugar: e.g., Escherichia coli, Enterobacter aerogenes, and Klebsiella pneumoniae.

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Universalium. 2010.

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