最近的研究表明，用标准发酵管和膜过滤技术检测饮用水中的大肠菌群存在严重缺陷，因为大肠杆菌、克雷伯菌、肠杆菌和柠檬酸杆菌等属都被掩盖了。常规水分析的另一种方法是使用当前可用的培养基、培养时间和温度，以及熟悉的技术，似乎可以实现更好的大肠菌群回收。包括19个参考文献和表格。

Recent studies suggest that the detection of coliforms in potable water supplies by the standard fermentation tube and membrane filter techniques is seriously flawed, in that genera such as Escherichia, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, and Citrobacter are masked. An alternative method for routine water analysis that uses currently available media, incubation times, and temperatures as well as a familiar technique appears to achieve superior coliform recovery. Includes 19 references, tables.