Morbidity among bathers exposed to polluted seawater. A prospective epidemiological study

As the first phase of a major programme to develop epidemiologically derived recreational water quality criteria for South Africa, a preliminary epidemiological-microbiological study was conducted in Cape Town during February and March 1990. Serial trials were carried out at a clean and at a relatively polluted beach over weekends. Participants were recruited at the beach, at which time information on swimming status and sociodemography was obtained. This provided for a beach-going but non-swimming control group. Symptoms which developed subsequent to the beach visit were obtained by follow-up telephone interviews conducted 3-4 days later. Water samples collected on trial days both before and during maximum swimming activity, were analysed for enterococci, faecal coliforms, staphylococci, coliphages and F-male-specific bacteriophages. Significant differences in the indicator levels at the beaches were observed. An excess in gastro-intestinal, respiratory and skin symptoms were found among swimmers relative to non-swimmers at the polluted beach. Although not statistically significant, the results are suggestive of a relationship between swimming-associated illness and water quality. The study demonstrated the feasibility of the methodology and the results of the overall programme will form the basis for the development of epidemiologically derived recreational water quality criteria for South African beaches.