TABLE 1.
Numbers of coliform bacteria and phages infecting different strains of E. coli in the sewage samples studied
| Sample source | Avg. no. (range)a of:
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fecal coliforms (CFU/ml) | Somatic coliphagesb (PFU/ml) | Phages infecting E. coli O157:H7c (PFU/ml) | |
| Sewage plant 1 (n = 10) | 2.1 × 105 (7.2 × 104–3.2 × 105) | 2.5 × 104 (1.1 × 104–4.3 × 104) | 5.5 × 102 (1.2 × 102–8.0 × 102) |
| Sewage plant 2 (n = 7) | 1.6 × 105 (4.9 × 104–2.6 × 105) | 1.8 × 104 (1.1 × 104–3.2 × 104) | 5.1 × 102 (1.0 × 102–1.4 × 103) |
a
The average is the arithmetic mean. The range represents the maximum and minimum values.
b
Somatic coliphages defined as those infecting strain E. coli CN13.
c
Bacteriophages detected in strain E. coli O157:H7 ATCC 43888.