The Relationship between Demographic and Social Factors Associated with BMI among 25-60 Years Old Couples of Babol

& Purpose: Fecal coliforms and Escherichia coli have been conventionally used as indicators of microbial pollution of drinking water. The European Directive on drinking water quality has recently included Clostridium perfringens as one of the microbiological organisms suitable for using in control of the quality of water for human consumption. This study endeavored to assess the efficacy of Clostridium perfringens in comparison with fecal coliforms and Escherichia coli in detection of the microbial pollution of water sources. Methods: In this study, 60 raw water samples were collected from drinking water in the Isfahan province, Iran from May to November 2012. Fecal coliforms, Escherichia coli, fecal streptococci and Clostridium perfringens were investigated by multiple-tube fermentation technique (MFT) using double-strength medium in 10 series of tubes according to the standard methods. Statistical analyses were carried out using SPSS version 18 at the 95% confidence level (α = 0.05). Results: The results of this study showed that 46.2 % of water samples were positive with regard to fecal contamination at least for one bacterial indicator. Clostridium perfringens was the most frequently detected indicator (36.5%), followed by fecal streptococci (34.6%), fecal coliforms (28.8%) and Escherichia coli (25%). According to Pearson’s coefficient, the most significant correlation was found between Clostridium perfringens and fecal streptococci (0.88). Conclusion: Clostridium perfringens is an important indicator for waterquality monitoring in communities, where raw water is used directly for human consumption without purification. Evaluation of the spores of this bacterium can provide an added margin of safety for predicting the microbial quality of drinking water.