Pathogenic fungi: An unacknowledged risk at coastal resorts? New insights on microbiological sand quality in Portugal

Sabino, Raquel; Veríssimo, Cristina; Cunha, Maria Ana; Wergikoski, Bela; Ferreira, Filipa C.; Rodrigues, Raquel; Parada, Helena; Falcão, Leonor; Rosado, Laura; Pinheiro, Catarina; Paixão, Eleonora; Brandão, João

Pathogenic fungi: An unacknowledged risk at coastal resorts? New insights on microbiological sand quality in Portugal

2011

Whilst the potential impact on beach users from microorganisms in water has received considerable attention, there has been relatively little investigation into microbial contaminants in sand. Thirty three beaches across Portugal were analyzed during a five year period (2006–2010) to determine the presence of yeasts, pathogenic fungi, dermatophytes, total coliforms, Escherichia coli and intestinal enterococci in sand. Our results showed that 60.4% of the samples were positive for fungi and that 25.2% were positive for the bacterial parameters. The most frequent fungal species found were Candida sp. and Aspergillus sp., whereas intestinal enterococci were the most frequently isolated bacteria. Positive associations were detected among analyzed parameters and country-regions but none among those parameters and sampling period. Regarding threshold values, we propose 15cfu/g for yeasts, 17cfu/g for potential pathogenic fungi, 8cfu/g for dermatophytes. Eighty four cfu/g for coliforms, 250cfu/g for E. coli, and 100cfu/g for intestinal enterococci.

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