H. pylori or Helicobacter pylori is a type of bacteria smaller than most that can be found in polluted waterways and cause stomach ulcers and several other digestive complications when consumed. Customers who use private wells in rural areas depend on well water, so they desire to test well water for this bacteria before using it for drinking or cooking purposes. This article will provide information on the options available for sampling well water for H. pylori.
All About H. pylori and Why It Should Be Detected
H. pylori is a spiral-shaped bacteria capable of surviving in water that is able to contaminate sources such as wells. When consumed, it is capable of withstanding harsh stomach acid and can spread into the stomach lining, leading to inflammation, ulcers, and, at times, cancer.
Testing well water for H. pylori is essential for several reasons:
If H. pylori is present, illness from water can be avoided by treating the well or using a new water source for drinking/cooking. Ulcers in the stomach and cancer caused by the H. Pylori bacteria are preventable.
If well users within an area often suffer from stomach problems, a test for H. pylori helps determine if the well water is responsible for the infection. Then you can take the right action.
The testing should occur periodically, even if preliminary examinations are negative; thus, water safety is observed over time. The contamination of wells can happen at any time.
It’s a Challenge to Determine H. pylori Without the Use of Tests
Methods that test laboratories use to detect H. pylori in well-water samples:
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Testing
The most frequent type of test is the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing. When present, PCR makes and identifies the DNA of pathogens like H. pylori, even if it’s in a minimal amount. It is a reliable method of establishing the presence of this bacteria in well water samples. The drawbacks include that PCR testing is relatively costly. Since PCR identifies DNA, it cannot distinguish between infected and inactive bacteria.
Culturing
Culture testing attempts to isolate H. pylori from a well water sample and makes it grow in a culture medium. Detecting viable reproducing bacteria means the water specimen had live H. pylori capable of infecting the human host. The drawback of culturing is that success is conditioned by attempting to grow media with emerging markers of survival for fastidious bacteria. All study strains cannot succeed in laboratory cultures. And, overgrowth by competing microbes usually found in the water sample can inhibit the formation of H. pylori colonies.
Immunoassay
This method involves the use of antibodies that can selectively adhere to given proteins in the cell walls or membrane fraction of H. pylori. Positive identification of these complexes suggests the presence of the bacteria. Fluids may contain particulate interferences that can cause falsely positive or negative test results with antibodies, and not all proteins are produced by all H. pylori strains.
Microscopic Identification
Live water samples can also be directly observed under the microscope and seen to be stained by the picture of spiral-shaped H. pylori as well as the motility pattern of the same bacteria. Limitations include needs for specialized staff personnel to accurately distinguish the H. pylori from the other microorganisms with microscopic examination and inability to affirm through microscopy whether observed bacteria is H.pylori or other related Helicobacter species.
Testing Well Water: Things to Think About
There are some essential factors to consider when testing well water specifically for H. pylori:
1. Always hire a certified laboratory that tests water samples for microbial pathogen and more so for H. pylori bacteria. Sample storage and transport procedures should be maintained.
2. Instruct the laboratory that your samples are raw untreated well water samples, not tap water samples. The methods used in testing may vary.
3. If there is a preference of testing method stated due to constraints of each of the above methodologies, then define the testing method.
4. Sample at different intervals of the year, especially after floods or any incidences causing runoff water to enter the well water source.
5. Generally, expect to treat the water, and then retest after any positive H. pylori finding before using it for drinking or cooking again. Chlorination should be followed after positive tests for H. pylori in the well water so that it is disinfected before use again.
Conclusion
Using polymerase chain reaction assays, culturing, immunoassay methods, or microscopy to test well water for H. pylori will show whether wells have been contaminated and become sources for transmitting the bacteria that causes stomach illness to users. Using different testing methods will help determine and prevent the contamination of H. pylori in your well. Testing schedules and well disinfection for supplying drinking water in households are effective mechanisms in disease prevention.
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