During the Network's last webinar “Water quality testing in action: Making your testing program work in the real world” there were some questions to our panelist Dr. Anna Murray that couldn't been answered because of time constraints. She answered them in written for us to share with all of you. ¡Thank you Anna!
If you missed the event, you can register to watch the recording here.
Question: Would you suggest field blank/duplicate sample for CBTs?
Yes, I suggest using quality control measures with compartment bag tests (CBTs). Field blanks are always useful to test for sources of contamination during sample collection and transport. Field duplicates are also helpful, but the interpretation of them can be difficult due to the semi-quantitative nature of the test. It is possible to do the duplicate comparison by checking for both samples landing within the same diarrheal disease risk category (<1, 1-10, 10-100, >100 MPN/100mL)