click logo for homepage
 
 

	Vol.7, No 51, November 29, 1999
	H.B. surfers blame illness on water By Burt Cogburn Special to the Daily Forty-Niner HUNTINGTON BEACH -- After unwrapping yellow tape from the beach, some surfers may have gotten a nasty present. Three months after the Huntington State Beach was closed, some locals are contending surfers are getting ear and sinus infections because the water is still contaminated.  But city officials are skeptical, believing the sickness is a coincidence. "The symptoms are always the same," said Chris Cunningham, a top-ranked professional body boarder who has surfed here all his life. "First you get the runny nose and sore throat. Then the sinus infection sets in. If you're lucky, it doesn't get to your ears, because then the infection seems to last forever." Another local, Travis Crivaro, who has surfed here for 10 years, described similar symptoms. But some think the "surfers sickness" is not caused by the water. "This could just be from being in the cold water too much," said Larry Honeybourne of the Orange County Health Department's water quality division. Steve Davidson, a Huntington Beach marine safety lieutenant, agrees. "There is no way to prove that it is from the ocean," said Davidson, who works at the main lifeguard station near the Huntington Beach Pier. "Who's to say that it is not just another virus going around?" Dr. Darren Visichio, a local chiropractor who treats several surfers, said he thinks the sickness is too much of a coincidence. "There is definitely a problem here," Visichio said. "There are just too many people with the exact same symptoms to be taken as coincidence. When you add the fact that these people all surf and were in the water right before they got sick, that makes it obvious to me. The problem is, something like this is difficult to prove." The health department and Orange County Sanitation District test the water for contamination. The district conducts tests on the water five days a week in the winter and three days a week in the summer. In times of crisis, the testing is done every day and sometimes several times a day. The health department tests the water twice a week and shuts the beach down or posts warnings if contamination is found, Honeybourne said. The three types of bacteria tested for are total coliform, fecal coliform and enterococcus, all three of which are found in raw sewage. "Urban runoff is the source of the bacteria," Honeybourne said. "Anytime you wash your car or your pet goes to the bathroom, it is probably going to end up in the ocean." One official feels the district has tried to prevent contamination. "We spent $1.25 million testing all the sewer systems, and the bacteria is not coming from us," said Michelle Tuchman, who works for the district.		Net bookstore denies deceit   Mural brings nature to life   H.B. surfers blame illness on water Religion hitting schools   Drug abuse is baby abuse   Holidays ending More weekday video picks   Motherly review   Soul Wax serves diverse musical platter with release Giambi enters hall Fall 99 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
Forty-Niner Publications, Department of Journalism, California State University, Long Beach ©1999 All rights reserved.