BD Diagnostic Systems, Sparks, MD, has announced the release of BD MI Agar, a new chromogenic/fluorogenic medium formulated to simultaneously detect total coliforms and Escherichia coli in drinking water by membrane filtration.

BD MI Agar conforms to the USEPA 1604 approved procedure for monitoring drinking water under the Total Coliform Rule and source water under the Surface Water Treatment Rule. A significant enhancement to the membrane filtration (MF) test method, MI Agar increases the analytical quality, while reducing analysis time when compared to conventional techniques.

Final results are available in 24 hours or less.

The benefit for testing facilities is a more efficient, cost-effective, sensitive and specific tool for the detection of total coliforms and E. coli in drinking water. BD MI Agar offers precise, quantifiable results as compared to the most probable numbers method which provides only a statistical estimate that is more costly and time consuming.

While BD MI Agar is approved for use by certified drinking water laboratories for microbial analysis of potable water, it's also ideal for a wider range of applications.

BD MI Agar can be used to test recreational, surface or marine water, bottled water, groundwater, well water, treatment plant effluents, water from drinking water distribution lines, drinking water source water and possibly foods.1

MI Agar was developed by the USEPA for testing drinking water as an enhancement to the MF technique. As a single-step MF technique, MI Agar can be used to simultaneously detect and enumerate both total coliforms and E. coli in water samples in 24 hours or less on the basis of their specific enzyme activities.MI Agar detects the presence of the bacterial enzymes ß- galactosidase and ß-glucuronidase produced by total coliforms and E. coli, respectively.

Typically found in fecally polluted water, coliform bacteria are species that inhabit the intestines of warm-blooded animals or occur naturally in soil, vegetation and water. They are often associated with disease outbreaks. Although these bacteria are not usually pathogenic themselves, their presence in drinking water indicates the possible presence of other pathogens. E. coli is one species in this group of coliform bacteria. Since it is always found in feces, it is a more direct indicator of fecal contamination and the possible presence of enteric pathogens.

For more information on BD MI Agar, please call 1-800-638-8663 in the US, or to send a request for more details click here.


1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2002. Method 1604: Total coliforms and Escherichia coli in water by membrane filtration using a simultaneous detection technique (MI medium), September 2002, Publication EPA-821-R-02-024, USEPA Office of Water (4203T), Washington, DC

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