A group of bacteria commonly found in the intestines of animals and humans; used as an indicator to test whether water is contaminated with feces.
From 'coli' (short for Escherichia coli, a bacterium) + Latin 'forma' meaning 'form' or 'shape'. The term emerged in the late 19th century when scientists needed to identify bacteria in water samples.
Coliform bacteria are like nature's warning light for water safety—when scientists find them in your drinking water, it means disease-causing germs might be hiding there too, so they're tested in almost every public water system worldwide.
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