Comparative Efficiency of Swab Types for Recovery of Escherichia coli and HF183 from Household Surfaces

This dataset contains measurements of fecal indicator bacteria (Escherichia coli) and microbial source tracking (MST) gene markers (HF183 and EC23S857), as well as detections of culturable E. coli from tile surfaces experimentally inoculated with sewage influent. Swabbing was conducted using three swab types (i.e., polyester, foam, and nylon-flocked) across three surface treatments: wet (immediate recapture), dry (recapture 20–25 minutes post-inoculation), and 24-hours dry. E. coli culture results are reported in colony forming units (CFU) per milliliter (mL), while qPCR-derived gene marker concentrations are expressed as gene copies (GC) per 100 cm². Experiments were conducted in the Harwood laboratory at the University of South Florida to assess swab recapture and efficiency of recovery under varying moisture and time-delay conditions. Data may be used to evaluate microbial persistence on surfaces and inform sampling protocol development for environmental monitoring and public health surveillance.本数据集包含粪便指示菌（Escherichia coli）及微生物溯源（Microbial Source Tracking, MST）基因标记物（HF183与EC23S857）的检测数据，同时涵盖经污水进水人工接种的瓷砖表面的可培养大肠杆菌检出结果。研究采用三类拭子（聚酯、泡沫、尼龙植绒），针对三种表面处理条件开展拭子采样：湿润组（即刻重采样）、干燥组（接种后20~25分钟重采样）以及24小时干燥组。大肠杆菌培养结果以每毫升（mL）菌落形成单位（CFU）进行报告，而定量聚合酶链反应（qPCR）所得的基因标记物浓度则以每100平方厘米基因拷贝数（GC）表示。本实验于南佛罗里达大学哈伍德实验室开展，旨在评估不同湿度与时间延迟条件下拭子的重采样效果与样本回收效率。该数据集可用于评估表面微生物的留存情况，并为环境监测与公共卫生监测的采样方案开发提供参考依据。