Diving Hazards Unmasked.

DIVING; WATERBORNE infection; ENVIRONMENTAL health; AQUATIC sports; PUBLIC health; AQUATIC microbiology; ENVIRONMENTAL medicine; ENVIRONMENTALLY induced diseases; WATER pollution

The article discusses a research about how to calculate the health risks involved with waterborne pathogen exposure during diving. It references a study by Schijven and Husman in this same issue. A detailed questionnaire was used to ask occupational and sport divers about the number and duration of dives they made in ocean, coastal, and freshwater areas; whether a known pollution source was nearby; the type of diving mask worn; and the amount of water typically swallowed per dive. The researchers calculated the risk of infection based on the volume of swallowed water reported and pathogen concentrations.