Coliphage

A coliphage is a type of bacteriophage that infects coliform bacteria such as Escherichia coli. Coliphage originate almost exclusively from human feces and from other warm-blooded animals.^[1] When certain circumstances are met, such as a large number of susceptible hosts present at the right temperature, they can only partially replicate in sewage and contaminated waters.

Examples include Enterobacteria phage λ and species from the family Fersviridae. Coliphage levels reflect the persistence of pathogenic viruses in the environment and have been proposed as an indicator of fecal contamination in water.^[2]

References

^ Grabow WO (2001-04-01). "Bacteriophages : update on application as models for viruses in water". Water SA. 27 (2): 251–268. hdl:10520/EJC115944.
^ Nappier SP, Hong T, Ichida A, Goldstone A, Eftim SE (April 2019). "Occurrence of coliphage in raw wastewater and in ambient water: A meta-analysis". Water Research. 153: 263–273. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2018.12.058. PMC 7169987. PMID 30735956.

External links

Coliphages at the U.S. National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
A science project targeted towards students showing an example of the use of Coliphages

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[1] Grabow WO (2001-04-01). "Bacteriophages : update on application as models for viruses in water". Water SA. 27 (2): 251–268. hdl:10520/EJC115944.

[2] Nappier SP, Hong T, Ichida A, Goldstone A, Eftim SE (April 2019). "Occurrence of coliphage in raw wastewater and in ambient water: A meta-analysis". Water Research. 153: 263–273. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2018.12.058. PMC 7169987. PMID 30735956.

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