A microbiologist's view

As a microbiologist I feel it is my responsibility to write after reading the report “Fatal Bacteria Found in Drinking Water in Rajshahi Div” as the report(published on 21 June 2008) has wrong information and misinterpretation.
Firstly, coliform is not a single bacterium, it is a group of bacteria. Secondly, coliforms are not fatal and not the main cause of stomach disorder. These bacteria are quantified in water as an indicator of fecal contamination of water. That is, if coliform is found in water, it means that the water is contaminated with human faeces and may contain pathogenic bacteria such as Shigella and Salmonella which cause dysentery and typhoid. However, presence of coliform in water does not necessary confirm that water is contaminated with faeces. Hence only coliform count is not reliable information for predicting the risk of drinking water and is not used as the sole indicator of water quality. Moreover, a professor of medicine is not the right person to give opinion in this regard. A microbiologist or a doctor specialized in microbiology is the right person to give his opinion.