Chapter XVI — 191 — Sanitary Aspects 



Sanitation of sea-water baths : — The dangers from bathing in pol- 

 luted waters are well known. Gastro-intestinal infections and certain 

 respiratory infections have been traced to infected swimming pools. Some 

 health officers in coastal cities have mistakenly assumed that sea-water 

 pools do not present the same sanitary problems as do fresh-water pools. 

 Though summarized epidemiological data are not at hand, there are frag- 

 mentary accounts of communicable diseases having been contracted in 

 sea-water baths. The prolonged survival of pathogenic bacteria in modi- 

 fied sea water is indicative of the public health hazards. 



Unless properly treated, sea-water swimming pools may be more 

 menacing than fresh water. Municipal water supplies used as a source of 

 fresh water for swimming pools are usually sanitary, whereas sea water 

 may be pumped directly from polluted bays or beaches. Moreover, the 

 chlorination or chemical treatment of sea water presents unique problems 

 owing to its salt content. 



The control of algal growths in sea-water pools exposed to light pre- 

 sents another problem. When enriched with nitrogenous wastes from 

 bathers, both sessile and planktonic algae grow most profusely in sea 

 water.* 



Bacteriology of ice : — The bacterial content of sea ice presents no 

 special sanitary problems because there is little likelihood of human patho- 

 gens being in the sea, and little sea ice is used for the preservation of foods 

 or for the preparation of drinks. These generalizations, however, do not 

 apply to the large quantities of ice which are harvested from lakes and 

 rivers. From his review of the literature and his own investigations, 

 Jensen (1943) concluded that, if ice harvested from lakes is handled 

 properly, it is not an important factor in the spread of typhoid or other 

 enteric fevers. It is always a potential source of danger, though, because 

 bacteria, such as the typhoid bacillus, may remain viable for several 

 months in ice. 



Frankland and Frankland (1894) described experiments of Prud- 

 DEN in which there were i million typhoid organisms per ml. of ice held at 

 from 0° to — 10° C. for 11 days, 72,000 after 77 days, and 7,000 after 103 

 days. The t>phoid bacillus tolerated continuous low temperature in ice 

 better than alternate freezing and thawing. According to the Frank- 

 lands, ice from various lakes in the vicinity of Berlin contained from a 

 few to as many as 14,400 bacteria per ml. 



Jensen (1943) found coliform bacteria in only a small percentage of 

 the samples of ice recently harvested from lakes of the upper Mississippi 

 River valley. An average of 22 coHform bacteria per liter were detected 



* According to an editorial in Public Health News, of New York State Department of 

 Health, Volume 12, No. 3, page 402, polluted harbor waters may be responsible for outbreaks 

 of conjunctivitis, otitis, tonsilitis, rhinitis, sinusitis, sore throat, furuncles, laryngitis, and ring- 

 worm, besides various enteric infections. The Second Quarterly Report of the New York 

 State Department ol Health for 1932 states "from all of the data on hand it is ver>' probable 

 that most of the increase (in typhoid fever) may be charged to bathing in polluted harbor 

 waters condemned by the Department of Health." A higher incidence of tj^phoid fever was 

 observed in the city blocks bordering waterfronts and ticle flats. The California Bureau of 

 Sanitary Engineering (1Q43) details the case of a lifeguard who presumably contracted para- 

 typhoid fever from gulping several swallows of surf water while making a rescue near Kl Se- 

 gundo, California. In this region both Paratyphoid A and B organisms were isolated from 

 water samples taken 200 or 300 feet of the Hyperion outfall. As a result of a sanitary survey 

 of certain beaches around Los Angeles, the Bureau has caused to be posted signs which read, 

 "WARNING: This beach from high tide line seaward, including adjacent shore waters, is 

 polluted with sewage and is dangerous to health. The public is excluded from these areas 

 under order of the California State Board of Public Health." Schistosomiasis or swimmer's 

 itch and fungus infections are not uncommonly contracted by sea bathers. 



