Agreed that helminths are more resistant and useful indicator organisms (in most cases), but some regulations may still require you to test for E. coli. So, it is not all that bad to test for it, if you have the resources to do so. Besides, depending on the treatment/context you are using, it may be also useful to have a less resistant indicator organism (i.e. if you are not even managing to inactivate those, then you have a more fundamental problem).

Hi Nida,
Why would you even want to determine E. coli in fecal sludge? The only pathogenic indicator of relevance in fecal sludge are helminth eggs, I would have thought. They are a good indicator to compare different treatment methods for faecal sludge because they are so hard to destroy or remove.
(see the other threads in this sub-category for more information on helminth egg determination:
forum.susana.org/207-determining-helmint...asurement-techniques)

E. coli is more for water and wastewater samples as far as I know.

Regards,
Elisabeth

Thank you for letting me know about the Colitag kit but I am wondering if it can help in quantification as well?

Thank you Caetano for your reply.
I will be diluting sampling upto 10 log to determine the concentration.
Due to guidance on this forum, I am now preferring MPN as low cost option

"six of one, half a dozen of the other"... the E. coli levels in FS will be so high that it is likely your characterisation will be looking at orders of magnitude (i.e. log levels) and I'd be surprised to see a significant difference between the methods. As long as you are following/adapting a reasonably known method, I'd base your method of choice selection on price, ease of use, availability of reagents/materials, and other practical considerations.

Good morning.
I prefer MPN. I use Colitag Kit because it is simple and have good results.
www.colitag.com/
Best regards.

I prefer MF determination because in my opinion it is more precise...

MF determination is better because is more accurate than MPN

Dear All,

I need a suggestion.
As I am working on characterization of fecal sludge and i need to identify pathogens and indicator microorganisms, i will be determining E-Coli and helminth eggs. Can you guys help me in identifying which technique is better to use for EColi (quantification) in FS:
1. MPN
2. MF