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High bacteria levels continue for 4th day at Kahanamoku Beach in Waikiki

FERD LEWIS / FLEWIS@STARADVERTISER.COM
                                A sign warning of high bacterial levels and advising against going in the water was posted at Kahanamoku Beach, Waikiki, this morning.

FERD LEWIS / FLEWIS@STARADVERTISER.COM

A sign warning of high bacterial levels and advising against going in the water was posted at Kahanamoku Beach, Waikiki, this morning.

An advisory issued Sept. 29 for high levels of enterococcus, a fecal indicator bacteria, continues for the ocean off Kahanamoku Beach in Waikiki.

A sign posted on the beach this morning warned against entering the water because “contact with water may cause illness,” the sign read.

Levels of 453 enterococci per 100 mL of beachwater, exceeding the U.S. EPA’s threshold of 130 enterococci per 100 mL, were found in beachwater samples taken during routine monitoring Tuesday by the Clean Water Branch of the state Department of Health Clean Water Branch.

The most common illness associated with swimming in water polluted by fecal pathogens is gastroenteritis, symptoms of which can include nausea, vomiting, stomachache, diarrhea, headache or fever.

Ear, eye, nose and throat infections can also be caused by pathogenic microorganisms in beachwater, the advisory states.

The cause of the bacteria spike remained undetermined.

For more information, visit health.hawaii.gov/cwb.

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