Bleach-tolerant bacterial species isolated from potable water in Hong Kong

Abstract

Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) is a common household bleach. The ability of this alkaline salt to kill a wide variety of harmful bacteria upon contact makes it the chemical of choice in treating potable drinking water. Several studies have shown the ineffectiveness of the bleach in killing certain bacteria. We hypothesize that bleach might not be effective to all type of bacteria, especially the one which has the ability to form biofilms. Here we report the isolation and phylogenetic identification of bleach-tolerant bacteria from potable drinking water. The bacterial species isolated from this study phylogenetically affiliated to Ralstonia picketti, usually found in occurrence with biofilm-associated microflora.