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Sand quality on Portuguese blue flagged beaches: fungal and faecal contamination across two bathing seasons

2026-05Artigo científico Acesso aberto
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datacite.subject.sdg03:Saúde de Qualidade
dc.contributor.authorSilva, Ana Margarida
dc.contributor.authorSarioglou, Konstantina
dc.contributor.authorSilva, Susana
dc.contributor.authorViegas, Carla
dc.contributor.authorRibeiro, Edna
dc.contributor.authorRebelo, Maria Teresa
dc.contributor.authorBrandão, João
dc.date.accessioned2026-05-26T14:04:40Z
dc.date.available2026-05-26T14:04:40Z
dc.date.issued2026-05
dc.descriptionThis research was funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) through CE3C—Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes unit funding (UIDB/00329/2025), and CHANGE LA/P/0121/2020 accessed on 30 March 2025.
dc.description.abstractThere is growing concern about the quality of beach sand, as users tend to spend most of their time on the sand rather than in the water. Numerous pathogenic agents have reportedly been isolated from sand, including bacteria, nematodes, and opportunistic fungi. The ability of sand to retain pollutants and facilitate the transmission of pathogens raises public health concerns. We analysed sand-monitoring data from the 2024 and 2025 bathing seasons on Blue Flag beaches to find trends and patterns in total fungal counts, enterococci, and E. coli. The values recorded for microorganisms showed considerable variability, which may reflect the combined influence of multiple climatic, environmental, and anthropogenic factors on their presence in beach sand. Our findings suggest that the total fungal count on coastal beaches may be influenced by periods of rainfall, which increases the fungal load in the sand. Values recorded from inland beaches vary considerably between beaches, which may reflect the influence of local environmental characteristics, particularly vegetation and beach morphology, although the smaller number of inland samples also makes it difficult to define clear patterns and consistent reference values for this parameter. Bacterial indicators may be particularly influenced by occasional anthropogenic disturbances and contamination events. This study adds significantly to the understanding of the microbiological quality of beach sand, encouraging the integration of sand monitoring into environmental surveillance and management programmes.eng
dc.description.sponsorshipThis research was funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) through CE3C—Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes unit funding (UIDB/00329/2025), and CHANGE LA/P/0121/2020 accessed on 30 March 2025.
dc.identifier.citationSilva AM, Sarioglou K, Silva S, Viegas C, Ribeiro E, Rebelo MT, et al. Sand quality on Portuguese blue flagged beaches: fungal and faecal contamination across two bathing seasons. Microorganisms. 2026;14(5):1043.
dc.identifier.doi10.3390/microorganisms14051043
dc.identifier.issn2076-2607
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.21/22901
dc.language.isoeng
dc.peerreviewedyes
dc.publisherMDPI AG
dc.relation.hasversionhttps://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/14/5/1043
dc.relation.ispartofMicroorganisms
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.subjectBeach sand
dc.subjectEnterococci
dc.subjectE. coli
dc.subjectFungi
dc.subjectMonitoring
dc.subjectBlue flagged beach
dc.subjectFungal contamination
dc.subjectFecal contamination
dc.subjectPortugal
dc.titleSand quality on Portuguese blue flagged beaches: fungal and faecal contamination across two bathing seasonseng
dc.typejournal article
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.citation.issue5
oaire.citation.startPage1043
oaire.citation.titleMicroorganisms
oaire.citation.volume14
oaire.versionhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
person.familyNameViegas
person.familyNameRibeiro
person.givenNameCarla
person.givenNameEdna
person.identifier.ciencia-idEE1E-C639-D70F
person.identifier.ciencia-idC414-CDF2-D35A
person.identifier.orcid0000-0002-1545-6479
person.identifier.orcid0000-0003-1316-7750
person.identifier.ridB-7217-2013
person.identifier.scopus-author-id55443609700
relation.isAuthorOfPublicationb5fa5da4-50c3-4b88-ae20-1bc63cb485f7
relation.isAuthorOfPublicationa571bf34-bcda-49ca-b5cb-4cdecbb3d9c7
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscoveryb5fa5da4-50c3-4b88-ae20-1bc63cb485f7

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