Healthy environment is essential for all citizens. In our culture, beaches have important roles as places for social gathering, sporting and cultural events etc. In fact, all cities try to establish at least small strips of beaches, even in cases when the water bodies are small and the climate is not optimal.
It is essential that the swimming water is of high quality, both chemically and biologically. The quality is regularly checked by the relevant authorities. Still, there are several gaps in our ability to track the sources of pollution and in the current surveillance strategies.
A prominent part of the pollution is microbiological. This can originate from many sources:
- uncontrolled sewage outflows
- agricultural activities affecting the watershed
- activities of wild animals
- crazing grass by production animals (cattle, sheep), being an increasingly popular approach to beach maintenance
- human behavior on the beaches (young children being naked and not controlling their activities etc)
The current surveillance is not providing information for differentiating between these different sources. In addition, the standard methods of microbiological testing of water take several days. Rapid surveillance technologies are available but are not currently in routine use.
Another limitation is detection of only indicator species, often only Escherichia coli that can be complemented with Enterococcus. This information does not reveal even the pathogenic potential of the indicator strains, the other pathogens even not being considered.
The level of antibiotic resistance is constantly increasing. As a result, it is estimated to cause a major health crisis, being the highest cause of death by 2050. Although the resistant microorganisms spread in humans and animals, environment is increasingly recognized as reservoir and transfer route for antibiotic resistance. Beaches are places where a close contact between humans with natural environment occurs. We are currently not monitoring the antibiotic resistance risks of beaches.
In conclusion, we need to move towards establishing an integrated microbiological surveillance system of beach water.