Research progress on the injury mechanism and detection method of disinfectant-injured Escherichia coli in the drinking water system

Sublethally injured bacteria can still develop into normal bacteria under favorable growth conditions, and their pathogenicity poses a great threat to human health. In the drinking water system, some bacteria cause sublethal injury under the action of disinfectants, that is, disinfectant-injured bacteria. Hence, the detection of disinfectant-injured bacteria and the elucidation of injury mechanisms are of great significance for ensuring the microbial safety of drinking water systems. This article takes the indicator bacteria Escherichia coli as the research object, reviews and summarizes the sublethal injury conditions, damage mechanism, and detection methods of disinfectant-injured bacteria in drinking water, and puts forward a prospect for the future research directions of drinking water disinfection and disinfectant-injured bacteria. HIGHLIGHTS Sublethally injured bacteria are formed during the disinfection process.; Introduce the detection methods of disinfectant-injured bacteria.; The injury mechanisms of chlorine- and UV-injured bacteria are described.; It is recommended for an in-depth study of injury mechanisms, minimizing the potential harm of disinfectant-injured bacteria.;