Hach Pathoscreen test
Since 1947, Hach Company has manufactured and distributed analytical instruments, test kits, and reagents for testing the quality of water and aqueous solutions, with products for lab, process, and field. Pathoscreen Medium is a product that tests the quality of water in terms of the presence of certain bacteria: Salmonella, Citrobacter, Proteus, Edwardsiella, and some species of Klebsiella in drinking water, surface water, and recreational waters. The Pathoscreen Medium detects certain organisms, called Indicator organisms, that are not pathogenic, but are present only when certain pathogens are present. Testing for the actual pathogens is much more expensive and time-consuming.
Hach Company was started in 1947 by Clifford and Kathryn Hach, in Ames, Iowa. Their first success was the development of a simplified titration method for measuring hardness in drinking water. As the product line expanded to include more parameters and instruments, the company continued to “bring analytical chemistry out of the laboratory and put it into the workplace and in the hands of the general public.” Hach opened a Europe office in Namur, Belgium, in 1972, as a first step in the expansion of a global presence that continues today. In 1999, the European facility moved to the Düsseldorf location of the sister company.
Construction, operations and maintenance
The pathoscreen medium comes in pillows (like sachets) with enough powder to test 100ml of water. The sample water is put in sterilized bottles, and the contents of PathoScreen Medium powder pillow is added and left for 24 hours. The change in colour indicates the safety of the water. For more details read the attached document.
In the time that the powder is working, the sample should be stored at a temperature between 25 and 35 degrees Celsius.
Costs
The cost of the field kit, including enough media for 100 presence-absence tests using 20 mL sample, or 20 MPN tests. Reusable glass vials, and foil-pillowed media, increases shelf life, varies per location and nearest available distributor. To order it go to Hach website.
Manuals, videos and links
- PathoScreen Field Test Kit
- Hach: Indicator Organisms or the home page.