Poluição da água do mar e da areia de três praias de Fortaleza, Ceará, Brasil

Abstract

Through the colimetry test we evaluated 108 samples of water, wet and dry sand on three beaches in Fortaleza: Formosa, Meireles and Praia do Futuro. For water, the beach with the highest numbers of fecal coliforms (CF) was Meireles, varying between <30 and 11,000 / 100 mL, followed by Formosa and Futuro beaches. The dry sand samples showed higher FC indexes than the wet sand samples and the ones from Meireles beach were the most contaminated. For wet sand, the fecal contamination rates on the beaches varied in the following decreasing order: Formosa, Meireles and the future. According to CONAMA legislation 274/2000, the beach that presented the greatest number of times in an Improper condition for bathing was Meireles. Strains of E. Coli were isolated from the waters of all the examined beaches, with the one in the future having the highest number of strains. Escherichia coli O126 (one strain) and O25 (two) EPEC were isolated from the waters of Meireles beach but sensitive to the tested antibiotics: through the Sensibiodisc kit - CECON. Ten non-toxigenic strains of E. Coli were resistant to antibiotics: tetracycline, ampicillin, chloramphenicol, sulfamethoxazole-trimetroprim and cephalothin. Strains of Klebisiella and Proteus were isolated from water samples from Meireles and Futuro beaches. The three beaches were considered polluted with faecal material and could be harmful to their visitors.