Disastrous Fecal Contamination of Beaches: Anatomy of Disaster of Disasters in the Making

Every year, more than one hundred and twenty million cases of gastrointestinal illness and fifty million cases of respiratory disease happen, due to bathiñg in coastal waters with fecal contamination, according to a research conducted in 2010.

An estimated 90 million cases of waterborne illness of the gastrointestinal tract, ear, eye, respiratory tract, and skin take place every year in the United States, from recreational contact with coastal water, according to another study published three years ago.

An estimated 250 million clinical cases of human diseases happen every year as a result of coastal water contamination, while direct medical aid health costs of polluted water reach as high as $16 billion each year on a worldwide basis, according to yet another report.

From this, millions of people face the challenge of illness through fecal contamination, as well as from having recreational contact with coastal waters on beaches and nearby places.

Over 80 percent of global sewage flows into the environment, including seas and oceans, without adequate treatment, so many people who bathe in coastal waters must come into contact with fecal contamination from bacteria on beaches, with 22 percent of beach samples in the United States showing high bacteria levels and almost 600 beaches not passing health standards.

Over 10 million viruses exist in just one milliliter of seawater, so they easily assume the status as the most abundant biological entity in marine environments, with researchers even detecting enteric viruses in 23 percent of submerged sand samples from marine beaches in Italy, the majority of them human pathogens like reoviruses and enteric viruses.

Over five million metric tons of sargassum seaweed, compared to a long-time December average of two million metric tons, floated in the tropical Atlantic Ocean in December 2023, so many who bathe in coastal waters must come into contact with the plants, since they land on beaches.

Since such a huge amount of seaweed flows into the seas and oceans, and large amounts of viruses exist on beaches, along with sargassum seaweed, millions must face the challenges of illnesses from bathing in coastal waters with fecal contaminants.

Bacteria in fecal contaminants and other places cherish warm waters, and since climate change makes about 90 percent of global warming to occur in the oceans, water’s internal heat rises, leading to an accelerated growth of bacteria in beaches.

Viruses in fecal contaminants and other places thrive with warmer temperatures, and since climate change causes warmer sea waters, the number of viruses shows an increase.

Sargassum seaweed thrives with increases in temperatures, and with climate change leading to this, large spaces of seaweed spring up every time, such as  the Great Atlantic Sargassum belt with 24.2 million tons, about four times the weight of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Climate change could worsen the situation with viruses, bacteria, sargassum seaweed, and other pathogens in the future, bringing complications, such as making even more millions of people to face the challenges of illness from bathing in coastal waters with fecal contaminants and other substances.

One way to combat water pollution rests on management of stormwaters, to prevent them from collecting the viruses on their path. Another way entails proper management of ozone water treatment, which oxidises viruses and other harmful pollutants. In addition, sargassum seaweeds should be engaged to create a positive outcome.

These measures should cut down millions of people from facing challenges of illness through the fecal contamination of beaches, mitigating effects of recreational contact with coastal waters and nearby places, halting disaster in the making.

What to Eat

Vegan food from Peru, Credit, Veggielation.com.