What is Coliform? How does Coliform bacteria harm people?

The water we use daily can be contaminated with many types of bacteria from the environment, including Coliform bacteria. So what is Coliform? How can we determine the Coliform count in water?

What is Coliform bacteria?

Coliform is a common type of bacteria found in living environments, water, soil, food, and animal and human feces. Coliform bacteria do not cause serious diseases.

However, the long-term presence of Coliform in drinking water can be a potential cause of disease for humans. Many people worry about what Coliform is. It is a Gram-negative bacteria (gas-producing bacteria). Coliform bacteria have a rod shape, no endospores, and may or may not be motile.

What is Coliform in water?

Currently, most diseases caused by Coliform bacteria originate from water sources. Therefore, users may be worried about how it exists and what harm it can cause. It is important to detect this type of bacteria to identify the source of contaminated groundwater and find ways to address it.

What is Total Coliform?

Coliform bacteria are divided into 3 groups with different levels of danger: Coliform (total Coliform bacteria), Fecal coliform (found in feces), E.coli (a small group of Fecal Coliform).

The danger comes from Coliform bacteria

Coliform is one of the agents that causes diseases such as gastroenteritis, diarrhea, blood disorders, kidney failure, and even death. The body infected with Coliform bacteria will not show any abnormal symptoms during the 3-4 day incubation period. After that time, the infected person will experience some symptoms such as mild fever, and dull abdominal pain accompanied by diarrhea.

Depending on the degree of infection and the condition of the infected person, the body will have different symptoms. Treatment by replacing fluids and electrolytes is typically effective, and most bodies infected with Coliform bacteria can recover on their own. However, due to weak immunity in the elderly and young children, these groups are more likely to face more serious problems when infected with Coliform bacteria.

The reasons for the appearance of this type of bacteria in water

There are many reasons for the appearance of this type of bacteria in water sources, including:

• Untreated sewage and waste or improper treatment according to procedures.
• Old pipelines that have not been replaced or repaired.
• Coliform bacteria present in the soil may contaminate groundwater.

Methods for treating Coliform bacteria in drinking water

Boiling water

Boiling water and letting it cool before use is the simplest method to treat this type of bacteria. However, this method is not very effective and cannot remove many other smaller types of bacteria.

Disinfection with Chlorine

Disinfecting water with chlorine chemicals is a method that water treatment plants use to treat tap water. However, this method leaves residual chlorine that causes an unpleasant taste and odor in the water. In addition, the treated tap water cannot be consumed directly.

Using Karofi's RO water filter machine

Using various types of RO water filter machines is the most highly regarded method in terms of convenience and effectiveness. Equipped with modern RO filtration technology, RO filters with a size of 0.0001 micron and a filtration system with full functionality, Karofi's RO water filter machine has the ability to completely remove Coliform bacteria and remove up to 99.99% of harmful components in water.

Currently, Karofi is the only brand in Vietnam that provides RO water filtration machines certified to meet national standards for direct drinking water. Karofi's RO water filtration products will certainly provide users with cleaner and safer drinking water