Abstract

MANJARREZ, Ganiveth et al. Parasites in tourist beaches: proposal for its inclusion as health quality indicators. Review for Latin America. Ecol. apl. [online]. 2019, vol.18, n.1, pp.91-100. ISSN 1726-2216.  http://dx.doi.org/10.21704/rea.v18i1.1311.

The beaches, besides being a tourist recreation center, contain a large amount of microscopic biome with different species. Most pathogens are present in the sand, causing a high probability of human-parasite infection, especially by direct contact and poor hygienic habits. Likewise, the close bond that exists between animals and humans creates an environment conducive to the emergence of zoonoses of importance in public health, especially those related to companion animals such as dogs and cats. The monitoring usually carried out on tourist beaches includes as indicators of sanitary quality, total coliforms, fecal coliforms and in some cases enterococci, excluding the search for parasites as part of the parameters that define the sanitary status of the beaches. Consequently, the results do not fully reflect the environmental conditions of the beaches and the risk of affecting human health. In this review, forty-two articles (42) from Latin America were analyzed, as well as specialized literature from Europe and the United States, in which arguments are presented that support the permanent inclusion of parasites as indicators of health quality such as Ancylostoma sp., Strongyloides sp. and Taxocara sp., demonstrating the importance of their determination, main indicator species, laboratory techniques for their isolation and recent studies related to the topic.

Keywords : sand; sanitary quality; parasites; tourist beaches.

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