Expert Available to Comment on E. Coli in Flood Waters

Newswise — "It was absolutely inevitable," Central Michigan University biology faculty member Elizabeth Alm says of the E. coli contamination of the Hurricane Katrina flood waters in New Orleans. "E. coli is abundant in human and animal feces, sewage and sewage-contaminated waters.

"The real concern is not so much the E. coli themselves but that E. coli are indicators of sewage contamination and the potential presence of disease-causing microorganisms."

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY: Elizabeth Alm is a microbiologist specializing in water quality. She uses traditional and molecular techniques to study microorganisms, including disease-causing bacteria, in freshwater environments. Her most recent research of beach sand bacterial contamination is taking place at Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair swimming beaches.