Saving time and money in the analysis and control of drinking water

For over a century, the availability of quality water has been a worldwide priority concern especially focused on avoiding the transmission of diseases linked to water quality. Currently, there are 270 diseases associated with water consumption, which cause 557,000 infections in people in the United States alone. Historically, bacterial indicators have been used as the main parameter for measuring faecal water pollution, but different sectors and countries are now including other factors, such as viral indicators, to improve pollution control.

Researchers from the Research Group on Health-Related Water Microbiology (MARS) at the University of Barcelona have developed a technology for the determination of bacteriophages as indicators to detect and quantify viral water contamination. The kit developed and patented by MARS allows to analyse coliphages in a time of between three and five hours, therefore leading to significant time and cost savings, for the classic standardized analyses take more than twenty-four hours to complete.

Within the framework of the Fund for the Promotion of Innovation, the FBG has awarded the Research Group on Health-Related Water Microbiology € 25,000 in order to make the analytical kit available on an industrial scale, and to launch its commercialization.