y are at risk," Marion said.
The study appears online ahead of print publication in the journal Water Research.
E. coli in water is considered an indicator of the presence of fecal contamination from warm-blooded animals. Most strains of the bacteria Escherichia coli do not cause illness in humans, but the bacteria's presence is an indicator that other pathogens are in the water as well.
At Ohio state parks, E. coli levels are tested in inland lakes every 14 days. If the level exceeds 235 colony-forming units (CFUs) per 100 milliliters of water, the next day officials post an advisory recommending against swimming, wading or playing in the lakes. Testing is conducted more frequently once this threshold has been reached, and advisories are removed once the levels drop.
In this study, the researchers collected 26 water samples at East Fork State Park in southwestern Ohio over 13 summer weekends in 2009. They also questioned people at the lake each weekend about their beach activities, and followed up with them by phone several days later to collect reports of any gastrointestinal symptoms associated with their time at the lake.
A total of 300 households representing 965 individuals completed the entire survey process.
On two of the 26 sample days, E. coli densities exceeded the advisory threshold, with readings of 1,538 and 487 CFUs. The average bacteria level for the entire study period was 9.1 CFUs.
Across all days studied, those who swam, played or waded in the water were 3.2 times more likely to report a gastrointestinal illness most commonly diarrhea, vomiting and nausea but also including stomach pain and fever than were those who were at the beach but did not go in the water. That finding established a risk associated with exposure to water.
The statistical analysis showed that swimmers on days when E. coli levels were higher were at least seven times m
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| Contact: Timothy Buckley tbuckley@cph.osu.edu 614-292-5546 Ohio State University Source:Eurekalert |
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