Pergamon 0273-1223(95)00232-4 W.". SeL Tee". Vol. 31, No. pp. 5-9,1995. Copyright C 1995 IAWQ Printed in Oreat Britain. AU rieht& resaved. 0273-1223195 S9'5O +0-00 MICROBIOLOGICAL-EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF SELECTED MARINE BEACHES IN MALAGA (SPAIN) F. J. Marino, M. A. Morinigo, E. Martinez-Manzanares and J. J. Borrego Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Malaga. Campus Universitario de Teatinos, 29071 Malaga. Spain ABSTRACT Two beaches at Malaga. Spain. (one clearly polluted, one a 'blue flag' beach) were studied to establish their microbiological status; epidemiological studies were carried out to identify any association between use of the beaches and enteric or diseases. Correlations were then sought between the results of the two studies. SIdn infections were found 10 be associaled with seawater levels of P. aeruginosa. C. albicans and A. hydrophila. which could be related to faecal contamination. KEYWORDS Bathing beaches, health effects, epidemiology, microbial levels, seawater. sand, faecal contamination Introduction - The discharge of untreated sewage into marine coastal waters has potentially adverse consequences, one of which is derived from the health hazards for the bathers. Although the risk from bathing in contaminated seawater is generally considered less than the risk from drinking contaminated water, bathers may ingest between 10 and 15 011 of seawater each time they bathe, compounding any risk. • Additionally, exposure to breaks in the protective skin barrier and the mucous membranes may serve as additional entry points for infectious organisms (Rees, 1993). The scope of this work was to carry out an epidemiological-microbiological prospective study on a controlled sample, to determine the relationship between the concentration of some pathogenic microorganisms in bathing zones and the occurrence of adverse health effects among bathers and non• bathers attributable to the recreational use of coastal water and sand of two beaches with different faecal pollution levels. Material and Methods - A previous microbiological survey of IO beaches of the Malaga littoral was performed during 1987, to select the beaches to carry out the prospective epidemiological study. The beaches studied were classified according to: (i) their faecal pollution level using the microbial parameters specified by EEC Directive (EEC, 1975); (ii) number of bathers for each beach; (iii) conditions of services; and (iv) other complementary information. From the data obtained in this previous study (Borrego ll.1ll., 1991), we selected two beaches: Misericordia beach near Malaga city (a population of about 700,000 inhabitants), which presents a high level of faecal pollution; and Santa Ana beach in Benalmadena, a blue 5