The risk of reporting gastrointestinal illness after a beach visit rose as the amount of Enterococcus in the water, measured by QPCR, increased, the researchers found, and the increased risk was greater among children 10 years old and younger.
Enterococcus levels as measured by QPCR were a more accurate predictor of illness risk than the standard testing method.
"In terms of the overall ability to predict health effects, the new method was better," Wade said. Some localities are experimenting on their own with QPCR for testing water quality, he added, although the older method remains the standard for public health advisories.
SOURCE: Epidemiology, May 2008.
