The application and suitability of microbiological tests for fecal bacteria in pulp mills effluents: a review

Tests for fecal (thermotolerant) and total coliforms applied to drinking and recreational waters are convenient but not necessarily accurate indicators of the presence of pathogens originating from the intestines of warm-blooded animals. These tests may be inappropriate for analyses of complex industrial effluents such as pulp mill effluents, which may contain bacteria that yield a positive result in fecal and total coliform tests, even though no fecal source exists. Consequently, other more specific indicators for the presence of potential pathogens are needed. In cases where the sources of, or validity of, fecal responses are problematic, the direct examination of pathogens, and/or the use of new source-tracking techniques, such as DNA fingerprinting, may be better approaches for protecting public health.