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ARE NEW AND FASTER WAYS OF MEASURING RECREATIONAL WATER PREDICTIVE OF SWIMMING ASSOCIATED ILLNESS? AN EPIDEMIOLOGIC INVESTIGATION AT FOUR GREAT LAKES BEACHES
Citation:
WADE, T. J., R. L. CALDERON, E. A. SAMS, M. BEACH, K. P. BRENNER, A. H. WILLIAMS, AND A. P. DUFOUR. ARE NEW AND FASTER WAYS OF MEASURING RECREATIONAL WATER PREDICTIVE OF SWIMMING ASSOCIATED ILLNESS? AN EPIDEMIOLOGIC INVESTIGATION AT FOUR GREAT LAKES BEACHES. Presented at 9th Annual Public Health Days (JASP), Quebec City, QC, CANADA, November 14 - 16, 2005.
Description:
In this presentation, I will describe the results of a series of studies designed to evaluate the ability of faster ways of measuring recreational water quality to predict swimming associated illness. The methods currently recommended for measuring fecal contamination in recreational waters require 24 to 48 hours for results. New and faster ways of measuring fecal contamination in environmental water samples that can be completed in two hours or less have been developed. We conducted epidemiology studies at four Great Lake Beaches to determine whether these faster ways of measuring water quality were associated with illness. We enrolled over 20,000 beach goers over two summers. At each beach, we collected water samples three times a day, at three locations and at two depths. Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (QPCR), a method which can provide results in two hours or less, was used to measure two groups of fecal indicator bacteria, Enterococci and Bacteroides. Swimmers reported more gastrointestinal illness, rash, and earache compared to non-swimmers. There was a significant association between the amount of Enterococci, measured by QPCR, measured in the water and the proportion of swimmers reporting gastrointestinal illness. This is the first study to demonstrate that fecal indicators, measured by QPCR are related to health effects. Faster ways of measuring recreational water quality such as these will allow beach managers and public health officials to make more timely decisions regarding beach safety.