DOES HEPATITIS-A POSE A SIGNIFICANT HEALTH RISK TO RECREATIONAL WATERUSERS

In recent years recreational water use in the UK has increased dramati cally and it has been estimated that more than twenty million people u se the British coastline annually. In addition, there has been a marke d increase in the number of people who use inland water e.g. lakes, re servoirs, rivers and canals. The ready availability of the wet suit ha s altered the public use of recreational water in several ways in the UK. Longer periods of immersion are now becoming normal with year-roun d activity now common not just during the accepted bathing season of M ay-September. Further factors that raise the importance of health impl ications are the growth of sports which involve intimate contact with water: surfing, windsurfing and boogie boarding. The raised public awa reness of environmental issues in general makes health risk assessment a prime concern. Hepatitis A virus infection is transmitted by the fa ecal-oral route and this study compares two groups of water users, sur fers and inland windsurfers. Saliva samples were rested for total anti body to hepatitis A as this indicates the immune status of the individ ual. All participants completed a questionnaire that elicited concomit ant risk factors for previous exposure to hepatitis A. A calculated Od ds Ratio of 3.03 and a Chi square of 5.3 with a probability of P = 0.0 2 was obtained when the non-immunised surfers were compared with the n on-immunised windsurfers. This shows a statistical correlation between surfing and exposure to hepatitis A virus. It is recommended that sur fers should be offered vaccination in order that they are protected fr om the risk of acquiring hepatitis A. They should also be given the op portunity to make a considered decision about the risks of acquiring h epatitis A recreationally. (C) 1997 IAWQ. Published by Elsevier Scienc e Ltd.