Fecal Contamination in Coastal Areas: An Engineering Approach

“The occurrence of pathogenic microorganisms in seawater or in shellfish could exist anytime sewage from human or animal origin would be discharged to the coast” (Metcalf, 1982). According to the diseases occurring in the human population or in animals, pathogens might be present in recreational waters or in shellfish. Thus, the presence of human enteric viruses (norovirus, astrovirus, rotavirus, hepatitis A virus (HAV)) and pathogenic bacteria (Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, Shiga-toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, etc.) has been reported in coastal areas for a long time (Colwell, 1978; Metcalf, 1978; Melnick et al., 1979; Grimes, 1991; Bosch et al., 2001;Kong et al., 2002). These microorganisms have been implicated in gastrointestinal and respiratory illnesses and other infections (skin, eyes, etc.), (Griffin et al., 2003). Using risk-assessment models for viruses, maximum risks were estimated to be 1.3 infections per 100 swimmers (Colwell et al., 1996).