A yearlong beach study led by a team of University of Miami researchers suggests that swimmers at subtropical beaches face an increased risk of illness. The multidisciplinary team examined the risk of illness that beachgoers face when exposed to recreational marine water at subtropical beaches with no known source of pollution or contamination.
B.E.A.C.H.E.S. (Beach Environmental Assessment and Characterization Human Exposure Study) enlisted more than 1,300 volunteers, all local residents who regularly use South Florida beaches. Researchers divided study participants into two groups: volunteers who went into the water and those instructed to stay out of the water. The group that went in the water was asked to completely submerge themselves three times over a 15-minute period. A few days later, both sets of participants received follow-up calls from researchers, checking on their health and well-being.
“We found that when swimming in subtropical beach areas with no known pollution or contamination from sewage or runoff, you still have a chance of being exposed to the kind of microbes that can make you sick,” said Lora Fleming, co-director of the Center for Oceans and Human Health and professor of epidemiology at the University of Miami, who directed the study, the first large epidemiologic survey of its kind. “This information is especially important to take into account for children and the elderly, or if you have a compromised immune system and are planning a beach outing.”
