Waterborne pathogen monitoring in Jaipur, India reveals potential microbial risks of urban groundwater supply

摘要: The Sustainable Development Goals require that 100 mL water samples contain no culturable E. coli to classify a supply as “safely managed” from microbial perspective. But small volume sampling is often insufficient for detecting risks. We used culture-based measures of total coliforms and along with dead-end ultrafiltration (DEUF) droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) assess the quality an urban in Jaipur, India. Despite absence 90% grab (n = 20) during 10-day period, we detected genes associated protozoan bacterial pathogens (Giardia, Cryptosporidium, enterotoxigenic coli) 3 DEUF groundwater (n = 9; 59 122.4 liters). Of three positive waterborne pathogens, two were negative coli. Methods improved analytical sensitivity, such ddPCR, can detect evidence drinking supplies supplement conventional methods better inform pathogen-specific risk assessment management.