Direct onshore wind predicts daily swimmer's itch (avian schistosome) incidence at a Michigan beach.

ABSTRACT: Swimmer's itch (SI) is a painful rash caused by skin penetration by free-swimming infectious cercariae of avian schistosomes, snail-borne helminth parasites related to the causative agents of human schistosomiasis. The goal of this study was to determine if commonly collected environmental data could be used to predict daily fluctuations in SI incidence at an inland beach in northwestern Michigan. Lifeguards collected daily data over four summers, including the number of self-reported SI cases, total swimmers, water temperature, wind speed and wind direction. Mixed-effects binomial regression revealed that wind direction, wind speed and time of day were the best predictors of daily SI risk. Swimmers entering the water in the morning or on days with direct onshore wind perpendicular to the

SUBMITTER: Sckrabulis JP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10317682 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature