A cross-sectional study on infectious health risks regarding freshwater sports practice in Brittany, France

• Published in: Journal of Water and Health
• Main Authors: Velardo, Fanny, Bouziri, Hanifa, Adélaïde, Lucie, Oliosi, Emma, Layan, Maylis, Descamps, Alexandre, Berthod, Delphine, Patlán-Hernández, Alan, R., Ledrans, Martine, Pivette, Mathilde, Lefort, Mathilde, Roux, Jonathan, Crepey, Pascal
• Other Authors: Pasteur-Cnam Risques infectieux et émergents (PACRI), Institut Pasteur Paris (IP)-Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers CNAM (CNAM)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité), Laboratoire Modélisation, épidémiologie et surveillance des risques sanitaires (MESuRS), Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers CNAM (CNAM), Université Paris-Saclay, Modélisation mathématique des maladies infectieuses - Mathematical modelling of Infectious Diseases, Institut Pasteur Paris (IP)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité), Sorbonne Université - Faculté de Médecine (SU FM), Sorbonne Université (SU), CIC Cochin Pasteur (CIC 1417), Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (AP-HP)-Hôpital Cochin AP-HP, Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (AP-HP)-Hôtel-Dieu-Groupe hospitalier Broca-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité), Hôpital du Valais Sion, Switzerland, Santé publique France - French National Public Health Agency Saint-Maurice, France, Recherche en Pharmaco-épidémiologie et Recours aux Soins (REPERES), Université de Rennes (UR)-École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique EHESP (EHESP), Arènes: politique, santé publique, environnement, médias (ARENES), Université de Rennes (UR)-Institut d'Études Politiques IEP - Rennes-École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique EHESP (EHESP)-Université de Rennes 2 (UR2)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique EHESP (EHESP), Département Méthodes quantitatives en santé publique (METIS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2022
• Subjects: epidemiology; freshwater sports; leptospirosis; water-related infections; [SDV.SPEE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Santé publique et épidémiologie; [SDV.MHEP.MI]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Human health and pathology/Infectious diseases; eskimo*
• Online Access: https://hal.sorbonne-universite.fr/hal-03554882; https://hal.sorbonne-universite.fr/hal-03554882/document; https://hal.sorbonne-universite.fr/hal-03554882/file/jwh2022232.pdf; https://doi.org/10.2166/wh.2022.232

International audience Freshwater sports expose practitioners to pathogens in the water environment and may result in infection. In French Brittany, these infections are particularly worrying, especially since 2016 with an increase in the incidence of leptospirosis reaching 1 case per 100,000 inhabitants, which represents the highest incidence observed since 1920. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of infectious diseases related to freshwater sports practice and to identify the factors associated with these infections among freshwater sports licensees in Brittany, France. From March 18, 2019, to May 8, 2019, we interviewed freshwater sports licensees (online study) and club presidents and instructors (phone study) in Brittany. Licensee participants were 18 years old or more and practiced at least one freshwater sport in one of the 79 Brittany clubs. We used logistic regression models to study the association between our variables of interest and potential risk factors. In total, 551 licensees (20.3% of the total number of licensees) and 38 clubs (48.1%) were surveyed. Among the licensees, 29 (5.3%) reported being diagnosed with leptospirosis, of which 12 (41.3%) occurred in the last 5 years. The most reported symptoms were skin irritation/itchy skin (24.3%) and 39 individuals (7.1%) reported at least one hospitalization in their lifetime for a disease related to freshwater sports. The occurrence of leptospirosis was negatively associated with boarding from a pontoon (odds ratio (OR)=0.20, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.06–0.56), practicing for less than 4 years (OR=0.17, 95% CI 0.04–0.56) compared to more than 10 years, and the occurrence of leptospirosis was positively associated with taking a soapy shower after practice (OR=4.38, 95% CI 1.90–10.51). Eskimo roll was positively associated with the occurrence of otitis and conjunctivitis (OR=3.22, 95% CI 1.82–6.03), and skin irritation/itchy skin (OR=1.66, 95% CI 0.99–2.84). Otitis, conjunctivitis, and skin irritation/itchy skin are the most common ...