Fecal indicator bacteria in tropical beach sand: Baseline findings from Port Dickson coastline, Strait of Malacca (Malaysia).
This pilot study aims to assess Escherichia coli (E. coli) contamination and its perceived health risks among beachgoers in ten tropical beach sands along Port Dickson coastline (Malaysia). This study also aims to determine the relationship between perceived health symptoms and tropical beach sand exposure behavior. The concentration of E. coli in tropical beach sand ranged from 60cfu/100g to 4113cfu/100g. E. coli contamination was the highest at Tanjung Gemuk (4113±30cfu/100g) and the lowest at Tanjung Tuan (60±15cfu/100g); the high level of contamination could be due to the location of the former at the sewage outlet of nearby hotels. Skin symptoms were the most predominant among the health symptoms indicated by beachgoers. Exposure duration was significantly correlated with the perceived health symptoms among beachgoers in the beaches studied.
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Faculty Of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia. Electronic address: smpraveena@gmail.com.
Sarva Mangala
SM
Praveena
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Faculty Of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia. Electronic address: shamira_hashin@yahoo.com.
Siti Shafiqa
SS
Shamira
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Faculty Of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia. Electronic address: norkhadijah@upm.edu.my.
Sharifah Norkhadijah Syed
SNS
Ismail
Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Environmental Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. Electronic address: zaharin@upm.edu.my.
Ahmad Zaharin
AZ
Aris
D001493:Bathing Beaches / Q000592:standards*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011998:Recreation; D012822:Silicon Dioxide
D012822:Silicon Dioxide
Escherichia coli; Exposure; Health symptoms; Tropical beach sand