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MONITORING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF UV DISINFECTION OF AEROMONAS SPP. USING SELECTIVE AND NON-SELECTIVE MEDIA
Citation:
Hayes*, S, C D. Barnes*, AND S. Sabaratnam. MONITORING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF UV DISINFECTION OF AEROMONAS SPP. USING SELECTIVE AND NON-SELECTIVE MEDIA. Water Quality Technology Conference and Exhibition, Nashville, TN, 11/11-15/2001.
Description:
This research was initiated to determine the sensitivity of Aeromonas spp. to ultraviolet (UV) disinfection. Aeromonas hydrophila is a contaminant listed on the USEPA's 1998 CCL. Three different Aeromonas spp. (A. hydrophila, A. sobria and A. caviae) were tested using membrane filtration (MF). For comparison purposes, one strain of the water quality indicator organism Escherichia coli ws also investigated. A low-pressure UV source was used in all experiments in conjunction will a collimated beam apparatus. Organisms were grown on both selective and non-selective media after UV exposure. Aeromonas spp. were found to be sensitive to UV irradiation, with fluences of less than 7 mJ/cm2 giving between 5-7 log10 reductions. However, some Aeromonas spp. counts from non-selective media were significantly higher than those obtained with selective agar. E. coli also showed differences between the selective and non-selective media. These findings suggest that selective agars may underestimate the number of viable organisms found after exposure to UV irradiation.