HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Related articles in AJPH Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Fleisher, J M Articles by Godfree, A F Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Fleisher, J M Articles by Godfree, A F

Marine waters contaminated with domestic sewage: nonenteric illnesses associated with bather exposure in the United Kingdom.

J M Fleisher, D Kay, R L Salmon, F Jones, M D Wyer and A F Godfree

Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, State University of New York, Brooklyn 11203-2098, USA.

OBJECTIVES: This study identified possible dose-response relationships among bathers exposed to marine waters contaminated with domestic sewage and subsequent risk of nonenteric illness. METHODS: Four intervention follow-up studies were conducted within the United Kingdom. Healthy volunteers (n = 1273) were randomized into bather and nonbather groups. Intensive water-quality monitoring was used to assign five bacteriological indices of water quality to individual bathers. Illnesses studied were acute febrile respiratory illness, and eye, ear, and skin ailments. RESULTS: Fecal streptococci exposure was predictive of acute febrile respiratory illness, while fecal coliform exposure was predictive of ear ailments. Estimated thresholds of effect occurred at bather exposures above 60 fecal streptococci and 100 fecal coliform per 100 ml of water, respectively. Although no relationship was found between eye ailments and indicator organism exposure, compared with nonbathers, bathers were at higher risk for eye ailments. CONCLUSIONS: Nonenteric illness can be transmitted via recreational contact with marine waters contaminated with sewage. These results argue against the use of a single indicator to establish water quality standards.

Related articles in AJPH:

Annotation: marine waters and nonenteric illness--matching the degree of analytical rigor to the biology of the infectious process.

S R Telford, 3rd
AJPH 1996 86: 1203-1204. [PDF]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. Kay, A. C. Edwards, R. C. Ferrier, C. Francis, C. Kay, L. Rushby, J. Watkins, A. T. McDonald, M. Wyer, J. Crowther, et al. Catchment microbial dynamics: the emergence of a research agenda Progress in Physical Geography, February 1, 2007; 31(1): 59 - 76. [Abstract] [PDF]

				C. A. Carson, J. M. Christiansen, H. Yampara-Iquise, V. W. Benson, C. Baffaut, J. V. Davis, R. R. Broz, W. B. Kurtz, W. M. Rogers, and W. H. Fales Specificity of a Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron Marker for Human Feces Appl. Envir. Microbiol., August 1, 2005; 71(8): 4945 - 4949. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. H. Dwight, D. B. Baker, J. C. Semenza, and B. H. Olson Health Effects Associated With Recreational Coastal Water Use: Urban Versus Rural California Am J Public Health, April 1, 2004; 94(4): 565 - 567. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. A. Carson, B. L. Shear, M. R. Ellersieck, and J. D. Schnell Comparison of Ribotyping and Repetitive Extragenic Palindromic-PCR for Identification of Fecal Escherichia coli from Humans and Animals Appl. Envir. Microbiol., March 1, 2003; 69(3): 1836 - 1839. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. W. Griffin, K. A. Donaldson, J. H. Paul, and J. B. Rose Pathogenic Human Viruses in Coastal Waters Clin. Microbiol. Rev., January 1, 2003; 16(1): 129 - 143. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M D Prieto, B Lopez, J A Juanes, J A Revilla, J Llorca, and M Delgado-Rodriguez Recreation in coastal waters: health risks associated with bathing in sea water J. Epidemiol. Community Health, June 1, 2001; 55(6): 442 - 447. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. A. Carson, B. L. Shear, M. R. Ellersieck, and A. Asfaw Identification of Fecal Escherichia coli from Humans and Animals by Ribotyping Appl. Envir. Microbiol., April 1, 2001; 67(4): 1503 - 1507. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				R. Fayer, T. K. Graczyk, E. J. Lewis, J. M. Trout, and C. A. Farley Survival of Infectious Cryptosporidium parvum Oocysts in Seawater and Eastern Oysters (Crassostrea virginica) in the Chesapeake Bay Appl. Envir. Microbiol., March 1, 1998; 64(3): 1070 - 1074. [Abstract] [Full Text]