Isolation and Identification of Escherichia Coli and Klebsiella Species using Chromogenic Agar from Drinking Water of District Thar, Sindh, Pakistan               : Identification of Escherichia Coli and Klebsiella Species from drinking water

Jawaid Mian Larik; Shagufta Jabeen; Beenish Khanzada; Naveen Qadeer; Humaira Naz; Bisma Adil; . Shaista

doi:10.54393/pbmj.v8i12.1330

Authors

Jawaid Mian Larik Institute of Microbiology, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Pakistan
Shagufta Jabeen Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
Beenish Khanzada Institute of Biochemistry, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Pakistan
Naveen Qadeer Institute of Microbiology, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Pakistan
Humaira Naz Centre for Pure and Applied Geology, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Pakistan
Bisma Adil Institute of Microbiology, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Pakistan
. Shaista Institute of Geography, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54393/pbmj.v8i12.1330

Keywords:

Coliform, Pathogen, Filtration, Chromogenic Agar, Infection, Contamination, Drinking Water

Abstract

Most of the studies do not conduct bacteriological analysis of the Thar region drinking water, except for transportation and travel problems. Objectives: To identify the bacteriological profile of water at various regions of the Thar Desert, Sindh, Pakistan, concerning the presence of the indicator Coliform, i.e. E coli and Klebsiella spp., on Rapid Media Chromogenic agar. Methods: A total of 70 (70) drinking water samples were collected in 5 talukas of District Tharparkar, namely, Islamkot, Nangrpar, Kalohi, Dahri, and Diplo between December 2021 and May 2022. Water samples were tested right after the collection, with the help of the membrane filtration method. MacConkey agar and Chromogenic agar and plates were inoculated with filters and incubated aerobically in 35-37 o C, respectively, and kept for 24 hours. Bacterial identification tests were performed on the colonies on MacConkey agar plates and E. coli and Klebsiella spp. produced turquoise-blue colony and Mergenda color colony on chromogenic agar, respectively. Results: The findings of the bacteriological test revealed that the water samples are not potable, and 47 (67) samples contained bacteria. There were 28 (59) coliform and 19 (41) non-coliforms. Escherichia coli (18; 40%) was most common, followed by Klebsiella spp. (12; 27%), Pseudomonas spp. (9; 20%), Salmonella spp. and Proteus spp. were the least common (3 each; 6%). Conclusions: Chromogenic agar is a fast and convenient way of presumptive identification of bacterial contaminants in drinking water. E. coli and Klebsiella spp. were the largest bacterial communities in drinking water specimens of the Thar region.

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