Microbial contamination in the marine recreational sites and its impact on public health

Marine recreational sites are non-commercial areas where individuals gather for leisure activities and relaxation. Beaches are popular for their tranquil ambience and offer a variety of pursuits, such as swimming, walking, fishing, and constructing sandcastles. Coastal tourism and recreation play a significant role in national economies by attracting both domestic and international visitors. However, recreational beaches can also pose health risks due to microbial contamination from diverse human and fecal sources. The presence of pathogens in recreational beaches can lead to various health issues such as gastrointestinal, acute febrile respiratory tract, nasal cavity, ENT, eye irritation and skin-related infections. Swimming and bathing in polluted coastal waters cause over 120 million gastrointestinal illnesses and 50 million cases of severe respiratory disease annually. This not only restricts local residents and international tourists from utilizing the beaches but also results in economic losses and psychological impacts for affected individuals. Therefore, regular monitoring and assessment of recreational beach water quality is crucial in preventing contamination and the spread of infections. This review article examines the growing environmental and public health concerns surrounding microbial contamination in marine recreational areas. Despite the health risks, in developing and underdeveloped nations, the scarcity of comprehensive monitoring of recreational water quality poses significant health risks. Further, the manuscript also emphasizes the necessity for coastal and estuarine management and ocean-coastal policy recommendations to reduce risk in ocean and coastal areas by establishing threshold levels for emerging pathogens through microbial assessment and developing internationally standardized monitoring protocols that can be uniformly implemented across diverse beach environments worldwide for recreational development.