Comparative Study of Enterococci and Fecal Coli form Group as an Indicator of Seawater Pollution

A sampling of seawater was carried out on the coast east of Okayama Prefecture in 1984. Thirty samples of seawater were collected at 10 sampling points near beaches and were examined for both enterococci and fecal coli form group bacteria. The MPN technique was used for the detection of enterococci, and the MF technique for fecal coli form group bacteria. Enterococci were detected about 7.7 times as often as fecal coli form group bacteria. The correlation coefficient was high(r=0.8) when the bacterial numbers of both groups were plotted as logarithms. This result indicates that both bacteria can serve as a reliable indicator of the fecal pollution of seawater. However, the detection of enterococci using the MPN technique is more suitable for routine testing than that of the fecal coliform group with the MF technique in terms of the test performance and the cost involved