Abstract—Beaches have become very popular tourist
destinations for both local and international visitors. However,
the bacterial contamination they suffer from constitutes an
environmental and public health issue that affects numerous
coastal communities worldwide. This study aims to investigate
and understand the dynamics of bacterial contamination in
beaches due to contaminated effluents. A total of twenty
samples were collected from four selected sites (P1:
contaminated river, P2: mixing zone, P3 and P4: one kilometer
to the left and right of the mixing zone) in the district of Víctor
Larco, La Libertad, between October and December 2024.
Standardized microbiological techniques and procedures, along
with the Vitek2 system, were used to identify bacterial groups
and species. The results indicated high levels of microbiological
contamination, with elevated concentrations of thermotolerant
coliforms and Escherichia coli, making the area unsuitable for
recreational use. E. coli was the most prevalent bacterium,
alongside Enterococcus faecalis, Enterobacter cloacae,
Enterobacter aerogenes, and Proteus mirabilis. Furthermore, it
was found that 3 of the 20 strains of E. coli showed higher
resistance to Ampicillin (AMP), Ceftriaxone (CRO),
Ciprofloxacin (CIP), and Gentamicin (GEN), while all other
strains of E. coli, E. faecalis, E. cloacae, E. aerogenes, and P.
mirabilis were sensitive to the 11 antibiotics evaluated. The
research concludes that the discharge of wastewater in coastal
areas and exposure to contaminated waters can cause infections
and diseases in swimmers, especially during the high summer
season when the influx of people to beaches is higher.
Keywords—wastewater, antibiotic resistance, coastal
contamination, public health
Cite: Luis A. Cabanillas-Chirinos, Karen Diaz del Aguila, Yanina Rey-Vilela, Vicky S. Mariños-Lozada, "Bacterial Contamination on Beaches by Contaminated Effluents and Its Effect on Public Health: A Case Study in La Libertad, Peru," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 16, no. 6, pp. 445-451, 2025.
Copyright © 2025 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).