Patent Document ID: 8956826
Application ID: 11107458
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. A method for process control with respect to a target microbe, comprising: a) obtaining during each of a plurality of time periods, at least one test sample from a process or system receptive to a plurality of genetically distinct microbes; b) testing for presence or absence for each of a plurality of suitable markers of at least one target microbe to provide a set of test results for each sample, wherein at least one of the markers also detects at least one index microbe, other than the target microbe, potentially present in the sample and genetically distinct from the target microbe but is positive for a subset of the plurality of tested markers; c) calculating for each set of test results, at least one mathematical index value relating the number of markers for which positive results are obtained to the total number of tested markers, wherein the index value is predictive of the presence or absence of the target microbe; and initiating remedial action when the index value achieves a threshold value indicative of process failure and presence of the target microbe, wherein a method for process control with respect to the target microbe is afforded.