Although the risk is considered to be very small, second stages and mouthpieces could transmit disease. Divers are encouraged to disinfect equipment properly.
Commercial products designed for cleaning dive gear are widely available. Make sure to choose a cleaning agent that does not contain hydrocarbons. If in doubt about a product’s usability on dive gear, consult the equipment manufacturer for recommendations.
To clean scuba regulators, use a scrub brush to remove any gross contamination such as mud, dirt, sand, seaweed or saliva from the regulator. Rinse thoroughly with fresh water, then spray a liberal coat of the chosen cleaning agent on and into the mouthpiece and second stage until all surfaces are wet.
Let stand for 10 minutes. If the solution appears to be drying, apply more to keep the regulator wet for the full 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, rinse with clean, fresh water or under running potable water.
If several regulators need to be sanitized at the same time, or if you prefer immersion to clean the equipment, regulators may be immersed in the disinfectant solution for 10 minutes and then rinsed in fresh water.
Use the same procedure to sanitize snorkels and the oral inflation tubes of BCDs. To clean the BCD thoroughly, pour several ounces of the solution into the bladder and agitate for 10 minutes. Then empty the bladder and rinse with fresh water.
Before reassembling, allow the BCD to air dry.
Public Health Policy
From a public health perspective, monitoring popular recreational areas for various indicators is one of the major steps taken in risk reduction. There were more than 24,000 beach closures and advisories in 2010, the second-highest number on record. The majority of these were due to the presence of bacteria. Scientists and public-health officials rely on several factors to determine whether risk of infection is elevated in a particular area.
- Unsurprisingly, the presence of sewage is correlated with elevated infection rates. Gastroenteritis and respiratory illness in particular increase with the degree of site pollution. Pollution with sewage is generally assessed by monitoring the presence of enterococci bacteria.
- High swimmer density is a second factor shown to increase infection risk. Elevated numbers of minor ear and skin infections from human-shed bacteria are observed where swimmer density is high. Skin granulomas from Mycobacterium marinum have also been observed. Staphylococcus aureus levels have been proposed as indicators of exposure.
- Eutrophication, the increased abundance of algae, phytoplankton and other marine plants, may be linked to higher rates of infection by pathogens native to the marine environment. Runoff from agriculture and golf courses is a major cause of eutrophication. Blooms of plankton and algae can promote growth of associated populations of marine pathogens by increasing nutrients in the water and providing microenvironments that favor growth. The prevalence of Vibrio species has been proposed as an indicator for measuring eutrophication.
- Elevated seawater temperature is associated with increased incidence of shellfish poisoning and cholera. Remote sensing of sea surface temperature is being explored, but its predictive value needs further study.
References
- Miller MR, Motaleb M (2007). “Scuba divers rinse tanks harbor many microorganisms.” Microbe 2(12): 577.
- Olsson DJ, Grant WD, et al. (2008). “Conjunctivitis outbreak among divers.” Undersea Hyperb Med 35(3): 169-74.
- Thompson JR, Marcelino LA, Polz MF (2005). “Diversity, sources and detection of human bacterial pathogens in the marine environment” from Oceans and Health: Pathogens in the Marine Environment, Belkin S and Colwell RR (eds.).
- Washburn BK, Levin AE, et al. “Identification of bacteria in scuba divers’ rinse tanks.” Undersea Hyperb Med 37(4): 233-40.
© Alert Diver — Q4 Fall 2011