Why a popular Miami-area beach has been closed. Your health may be at risk
UPDATE: On Dec. 20, the Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade County lifted the swimming advisory for Crandon Park South that had been issued on Dec. 15, 2022. The water tested safe for swimming after two consecutive days of clear reports.
Miami-Dade health officials issued a no-swimming advisory at the popular Crandon Park South beach after two water samples exceeded the recreational water quality standards for enterococci.
In simple terms, there’s too much waste in the water, which can come from human or animal feces.
By state regulation, the Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade County is required to issue an advisory recommending against swimming when the level of enterococci tests too high and the standard is not met.
What can exposure do?
Contact with contaminated water from the enterococci bacteria, which normally lives in the intestinal tracts of animals and humans, doesn’t always make you sick. But it can cause illness that can affect the skin, eyes, ears and respiratory tracts, particularly for susceptible individuals, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“Children and people suffering from autoimmune disorders run a higher risk of getting sick after swimming in polluted waters,” said the Surfrider Foundation.
Symptoms of infection
Enterococci infections can happen in other locations other than from contaminated water exposure, such as in hospitals. Symptoms of infection include fever, chills, headache, abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, stiff neck and shortness of breath, according to Healthline. Doctors usually treat these infections with antibiotics.
When will advisory lift?
The no-swimming advisory at Crandon Park South, near Key Biscayne, will be lifted when two consecutive water samples test within standards — so it may last a couple or few days.
For more information, visit the Florida Healthy Beaches Program website at www.flhealth.gov and Select Beach Water Quality from the Environmental Health Topics list.
This story was originally published December 15, 2022 at 10:14 AM.
