Dataset Information

Risk factors for gastroenteritis associated with canal swimming in two cities in the Netherlands during the summer of 2015: A prospective study.

ABSTRACT: Urban canal swimming events are popular in the Netherlands. In 2015, two city canal swimming events took place, in Utrecht (Utrecht Singel Swim, USS) and in Amsterdam (Amsterdam City Swim, ACS). This prospective study characterizes the health risks associated with swimming in urban waters. Online questionnaires were sent to 160 (USS) and 2,692 (ACS) participants, with relatives of participants who did not swim completing the questionnaire as a control. Swimming water specimens and stool specimens of diarrheic participants in the ACS group were analysed. A total of 49% of USS and 51% of ACS swimmers returned their questionnaires. Nine percent of USS swimmers and 4% of non-swimmers reported gastrointestinal complaints (aRR 2.1; 95% CI: 0.3-16), while a total of 31% of ACS swimmers and 5% of non-swimmers reported gastrointestinal complaints (aRR 6.3; 95% CI: 4.1-9.5). AGI risk among ACS participants was directly related to increasing number of mouthfuls of water swallowed. Various norovirus genotypes were detected in five out of seven stool specimens taken from ACS participants and in all three tested ACS water samples. We conclude that the AGI risk among open-water swimmers in urban areas depends on the circumstances around the event. The epidemiological curve, the statistical association between swimming and AGI, and the microbiological evidence for norovirus in stool and water specimens suggest that AGI outbreak after the ACS event was due to water contamination by multiple norovirus strains, which is possibly linked to sewage overflow due to prior heavy rainfall. There is need for more targeted preventive measurements and recommendations for organizers, municipal authorities and participants to prevent this reoccurring in the future.

SUBMITTER: Joosten R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5378355 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Risk factors for gastroenteritis associated with canal swimming in two cities in the Netherlands during the summer of 2015: A prospective study.

Joosten Rosa R Sonder Gerard G Parkkali Saara S Brandwagt Diederik D Fanoy Ewout E Mughini-Gras Lapo L Lodder Willemijn W Ruland Erik E Siedenburg Evelien E Kliffen Suzanne S van Pelt Wilfrid W

PloS one 20170403 4

Urban canal swimming events are popular in the Netherlands. In 2015, two city canal swimming events took place, in Utrecht (Utrecht Singel Swim, USS) and in Amsterdam (Amsterdam City Swim, ACS). This prospective study characterizes the health risks associated with swimming in urban waters. Online questionnaires were sent to 160 (USS) and 2,692 (ACS) participants, with relatives of participants who did not swim completing the questionnaire as a control. Swimming water specimens and stool specimen ...[more]

PMID: 28369101

Similar Datasets

Project description:IntroductionSwimming events in city canals are gaining popularity in the Netherlands, even though canal water is usually not officially designated for recreational use. Knowledge regarding the risk of infection after swimming in canals is limited. An outbreak was reported in 2015 following a canal swimming event in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Local governments were concerned about the health risks of such events. In order to assess the safety of canal swimming, the Public Health Service (PHS) prospectively investigated two city canal swimming events in 2015. In 2016, we repeated this study, aiming to prospectively determine the risks of infection during two urban swimming events, the Utrecht SingelSwim 2016 (USS) and the Amsterdam City Swim 2016 (ACS).MethodsWe sent online questionnaires to 271 USS participants and 2697 ACS participants, concerning personal characteristics, symptoms, and exposure. Participants were asked to forward the questionnaire to three relatives, i.e., non-exposed. We analyzed water samples from the USS venue taken during the event, as well as stool samples of USS participants with acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI). AGI was defined as diarrhea and/or vomiting within seven days after the event. We calculated adjusted risk ratios (RR) for AGI in the exposed group compared with non-exposed respondents, using binomial regression models.ResultsThe questionnaire was returned by 160 USS participants (exposed) (59%) and 40 non-exposed relatives. Five percent of the exposed (n = 17) and 3% of non-exposed (n = 1) reported AGI (RR = 1.69; 95% CI: 0.23-12.46). Norovirus genogroup II was detected in two of six USS water samples and in none of the three stool samples. In one of three stool samples, rotavirus was detected. The questionnaire was returned by 1169 ACS participants (exposed) (43%) and 410 non-exposed relatives. Six percent of the exposed (n = 71) and 1% of non-exposed (n = 5) reported AGI (RR 4.86; 95% CI: 1.98-11.97).ConclusionResults of the ACS event showed a higher risk for AGI among the exposed, indicating that participants of events in urban canals in the Netherlands could be at a higher risk for AGI than those not participating. The inconclusive results from the USS are likely due to the small sample size. Swimming in non-monitored open water can bring health risks and more knowledge about environmental and human risk factors helps reduce the risk by being able to more specifically advise organizations and governments.

Project description:Environmental quality is a sustainability issue influenced by economic realities. To understand their relationships and influence, a comparative study of economic factors that affect pollution in Iwo and Ibadan metropolia was carried out. Data for the study was generated by administering 1067 structured questionnaires at both locations out of which 215 and 658 were, respectively, retrieved from Iwo and Ibadan. Demographic features of the respondents assessed as female gender, married status, tertiary education, a Christian sect, and household size of two to five, were 52%, 67%,79%, 67%, and 55% in that order for Iwo; while for Ibadan, the figures were 67%, 61%, 86%, 69%, and 58% in the same order. The six economic factors evaluated were; (1) income, (2) accommodation & living standards, (3) waste & noise management regimen, (4) energy utilization (5), inclination toward a green economy, and (6) waste sorting technology and adoption. KMO (74.8%) and Bartlett's Test of Sphericity showed that the data were factorable at p < 0.005. Results considered three of the economic variables as significant enough to explain 59.3% of the pollution state in Iwo and 60.2% in Ibadan. Of major importance for Iwo were waste & noise management regime (22.5%), accommodation & living standards (18.7%), and inclination towards a green economy (18.3%). In Ibadan, the three extracted factors also explained 60.2% of all economic variables affecting pollution. These were accommodation and living standards (24.4%), inclination towards a green economy (18.8%), and waste & noise management regime (17.0%). That means the strong economic influencers of pollution were common to both cities, even though, their order of importance varied. In other words, their degree of influence on pollution may be location dependent. Conclusively, the people's standard of living and inclination towards a green economy are compelling determinants of environmental pollution and so should be considered by stakeholders in formulating associated policies.

Project description:BackgroundRussia has a high burden of suicide and alcohol-attributable mortality. However there have been few studies of the epidemiology of depression.MethodsThe study population was 5077 men and women aged 35-69 years from a cross-sectional population based survey in the cities of Arkhangelsk and Novosibirsk (2015-17). Moderate depression was defined as Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) score≥10. Risk factors considered were socio-demographic factors (age, sex, marital status, living alone, education, employment status, financial constraints); health behaviours (smoking, alcohol use) and psycho-social factors (life events and social support).ResultsAfter mutual adjustment for all other factors, there was evidence that PHQ-9≥10 was associated with sex (higher in women), financial constraints, employment status, being a non-drinker, problem drinking, smoking, not having enough people to confide in and the number of life events in the past 6 months. Employment status was more strongly associated in men (OR 1.84 (95%CI 1.17, 2.88)) than women (OR 1.15 95% CI 0.86, 1.55). The effect size was particularly striking for financial constraints (odd ratio over 3 times higher in those with not enough money for food and clothes compared to no financial constraints), problem drinking (OR 1.72 (1.12, 2.65) among drinkers with CAGE score of 2 and 2.25 (95% CI 1.42, 3.57) in those with score ≥3 compared to zero) and life events (85% higher odds in those experiencing one life event and over 4 times higher odds in those experiencing 3 or more life events) all of which demonstrated a dose-response with PHQ-9>=10.LimitationsThe study was cross-sectional in nature therefore temporal relationships could not be assessed.ConclusionsWe have identified here a range of risk factors for depression among the Russian general population consistent with findings from other populations. The strikingly strong association with financial constraints indicates the importance of social inequality for the burden of depression.

Project description:Population growth and changing climate are expected to increase human exposure to pathogens in tropical coastal waters. We examined microbiological water quality in three rivers within 2.3 km of each other that impact a Costa Rican beach and in the ocean outside their plumes during the rainy and dry seasons. We performed quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) to predict the risk of gastroenteritis associated with swimming and the amount of pathogen reduction needed to achieve safe conditions. Recreational water quality criteria based on enterococci were exceeded in >90% of river samples but in only 13% of ocean samples. Multivariate analysis grouped microbial observations by subwatershed and season in river samples but only by subwatershed in the ocean. The modeled median risk from all pathogens in river samples was between 0.345 and 0.577, 10-fold above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) benchmark of 0.036 (36 illnesses/1,000 swimmers). Norovirus genogroup I (NoVGI) contributed most to risk, but adenoviruses raised risk above the threshold in the two most urban subwatersheds. The risk was greater in the dry compared to the rainy season, due largely to the greater frequency of NoVGI detection (100% versus 41%). Viral log10 reduction needed to ensure safe swimming conditions varied by subwatershed and season and was greatest in the dry season (3.8 to 4.1 dry; 2.7 to 3.2 rainy). QMRA that accounts for seasonal and local variability of water quality contributes to understanding the complex influences of hydrology, land use, and environment on human health risk in tropical coastal areas and can contribute to improved beach management. IMPORTANCE This holistic investigation of sanitary water quality at a Costa Rican beach assessed microbial source tracking (MST) marker genes, pathogens, and indicators of sewage. Such studies are still rare in tropical climates. Quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) found that rivers impacting the beach consistently exceeded the U.S. EPA risk threshold for gastroenteritis of 36/1,000 swimmers. The study improves upon many QMRA studies by measuring specific pathogens, rather than relying on surrogates (indicator organisms or MST markers) or estimating pathogen concentrations from the literature. By analyzing microbial levels and estimating the risk of gastrointestinal illness in each river, we were able to discern differences in pathogen levels and human health risks even though all rivers were highly polluted by wastewater and were located less than 2.5 km from one another. This variability on a localized scale has not, to our knowledge, previously been demonstrated.

Dataset Information

Risk factors for gastroenteritis associated with canal swimming in two cities in the Netherlands during the summer of 2015: A prospective study.

Publications

Risk factors for gastroenteritis associated with canal swimming in two cities in the Netherlands during the summer of 2015: A prospective study.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets