Search for suitable molecular markers for species differentiation of enterococci

Enterococci, together with representatives of the species Escherichia coli, belong to the so-called indicators of faecal pollution, which are used in the evaluation of the microbiological quality of bathing waters. Their determination is governed by the Decree of the Ministry of Health No. 238/2011 Coll. and performed by culture on selective agar media.

Use of Earth remote sensing methods to monitor the condition of bathing sites

The Ministry of Health in cooperation with other related bodies compiles, on an annual basis, the List of outdoor bathing sites on surface waters where the bathing service is offered by the operator, and other surface waters used for bathing. It is compiled based on the long-term monitoring, performed, exclusively as in-situ measurements, by the regional hygiene stations. With respect to the fact that this way of monitoring is not only time-consuming but also financially demanding, the need for minimizing these expenses naturally arises.

Monitoring of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater – what the monitoring has shown us so far and where it is headed

Since April 2020, the presence of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater has been monitored at TGM WRI, p.r.i. The method of detection is similar to that of clinical samples, ie the presence of a specific fragment of viral RNA is detected by PCR.