Human Bacteroides Testing


Human Bacteroides (HuBac) are a genus of gram-negative bacteria that predominantly thrive in the lower gastrointestinal tract of humans, and are therefore directly associated with foecal contamination.

Testing for HuBac via Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is a highly sensitive and reliable method of accurately identifiying foecal contamination after a potential sewage leak event.

The PCR method involves extracting the bacterial DNA from the environmental sample and exposing it to highly specific and specialised DNA targets called primers, which will only bind and give a positive signal if the HuBac DNA and therefore HuBac is present in the sample/environment.

Analysis can be done on several sample types including swabs, bulk samples and water samples. Contact the lab today for more information!