Microbial Source Tracking as a Method of Determination of Beach Sand Contamination

Elisabete Valério, Maria Leonor Santos, Pedro Teixeira, Ricardo Matias, João Mendonça, Warish Ahmed and João Brandão
Additional contact information
Elisabete Valério: Departamento de Saúde Ambiental, Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge, Avenida Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisboa, Portugal
Maria Leonor Santos: Departamento de Saúde Ambiental, Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge, Avenida Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisboa, Portugal
Pedro Teixeira: Departamento de Saúde Ambiental, Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge, Avenida Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisboa, Portugal
Ricardo Matias: Unidade de Desporto e Promoção da Qualidade de Vida, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Portugal
João Mendonça: Delegação de Saúde de Angra do Heroísmo, 9700-121 Angra do Heroísmo, Portugal
Warish Ahmed: CSIRO Land and Water, Ecosciences Precinct, 41 Boggo Road, Dutton Park 4102, Australia
João Brandão: Departamento de Saúde Ambiental, Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge, Avenida Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisboa, Portugal

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 13, 1-17

Abstract: Beach sand may act as a reservoir for numerous microorganisms, including enteric pathogens. Several of these pathogens originate in human or animal feces, which may pose a public health risk. In August 2019, high levels of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) were detected in the sand of the Azorean beach Prainha, Terceira Island, Portugal. Remediation measures were promptly implemented, including sand removal and the spraying of chlorine to restore the sand quality. To determine the source of the fecal contamination, during the first campaign, supratidal sand samples were collected from several sites along the beach, followed by microbial source tracking (MST) analyses of Bacteroides marker genes for five animal species, including humans. Some of the sampling sites revealed the presence of marker genes from dogs, seagulls, and ruminants. Making use of the information on biological sources originating partially from dogs, the municipality enforced restrictive measures for dog-walking at the beach. Subsequent sampling campaigns detected low FIB contamination due to the mitigation and remediation measures that were undertaken. This is the first case study where the MST approach was used to determine the contamination sources in the supratidal sand of a coastal beach. Our results show that MST can be an essential tool to determine sources of fecal contamination in the sand. This study shows the importance of holistic management of beaches that should go beyond water quality monitoring for FIB, putting forth evidence for beach sand monitoring.

Keywords: beach; coastal sand; fecal contamination; fecal indicator bacteria (FIB); microbial source tracking (MST) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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