[Research of the RNA-coliphages, in comparison with usual microbial and chemical indexes of biological pollution, for hygienic and sanitary evaluations of coast-waters (author's transl)]

Abstract

Hygienic significance of the usual microbial (E. coli, Enterococci, Clostridia) and chemical (COD, NH3, NO2) indexes of sea-water biological pollution was investigated, in comparison with RNA-coliphages assay. E. coli was confirmed as an easily measurable and significant index of biological pollution (at least for routinary investigations), while the other microbial and chemical parameters do not significantly increase the hygienic selectivity of the E. coli assay. RNA-coliphages assay, on the contrary, is able to increase the hygienic selectivity of sanitary investigations, particularly in lowly polluted coast-water. This behaviour of RNA-coliphages is in accordance with their great persistance in sea-water, due to their survival-time, closely comparable with human viruses. RNA-coliphages assay is therefore proposed as a simple and useful index of "viral pollution" for a complete hygienic evaluation of sea-water environment in addition to routinary E. coli assay.