What The Geese Left Behind -- Droppings Contribute To Rise In Swimmer's Itch

The woman is dunking her baby boy like a tea bag in the water at Seward Park's beach, completely unaware of the microscopic horror show that lurks below.

Sharks clearly aren't the problem. Now that the weather is warm - well, kind of, depending on the day - it's the schistosomes people have to look out for, and the "swimmer's itch" they bring.

"People think it's water," said Jeri Friend, watching her three kids frolic in the lake. "It's clear. It's clean. They don't think about it. They don't read the signs. They don't think about what's in the water."

What's in the water is a whole other world, a stew of fecal coliform, enteroccocus, other bacteria and parasites, just like what's taught in biology class. But there's a lot of water. Most of the time the organisms aren't a problem.

Sometimes, though, people catch salmonella or other intestinal problems. Other times, they get swimmer's itch, which isn't fatal by any means but can cause a nasty itch for about five days.

So far this summer, Seward is the only park to report cases of swimmer's itch. The city parks department has learned of a dozen cases there this week, more than any city park all of last summer. This is not a disease required to be reported to public health agencies, and more people probably have the rash and haven't told any official itch-counter.

Public Health - Seattle & King County put out an advisory Wednesday telling people to watch out for swimmer's itch, to take immediate warm, soapy showers or wipe off briskly after swimming in lakes, and to stop feeding ducks and geese.

And talk is surfacing again about knocking off some of the increasing numbers of Canada geese, which defecate on beaches, increase bacteria levels in lakes and harbor the parasite that causes swimmer's itch.

The fowl are the root of the parasite problem. Here is their story:

Many ducks and geese are infected with a parasite called a schistosome, which looks like a fluke or tiny worm. These worms produce eggs. The eggs hatch when the fowl defecate into fresh water.

These hatchlings enter certain kinds of snails. The parasites grow up. Finally, they leave home in search of ducks and geese to complete the cycle and pop out more eggs.

But sometimes these parasites take a wrong turn after leaving their snail home.

"You're not talking highly intelligent, sentient beings here," said Jonathan Frodge, who studies lakes for the county's Department of Natural Resources. "They're swimming around in the muck and the mud and the water, and they're bumping into something and they're saying, `Oh. Duck.' "

But the "duck" is really a person. When the parasite tries to burrow under that person's skin, it dies, because a person isn't a goose or a duck and the plan just doesn't work. The person can then have an allergic reaction to the dead parasite, which causes the red bumps that itch.

So people should always take soapy showers after swimming in lakes, or they should briskly dry off with a towel. Even scraping the water off your skin with your hands might help.

If a person gets swimmer's itch, which usually shows up within 12 hours, Calamine lotion and antihistamines might help. But basically, people itch, more so in the morning than the evening. Sometimes, scratching all this itching can cause secondary infections.

Swimmer's itch - caused by parasites, remember? - doesn't necessarily mean a lake is polluted with bacteria, which can come from many sources, such as sewage or runoff. In fact, polluted lakes report fewer cases of swimmer's itch. Seward Park's beach, for example, has the lowest rate of bacteria of all the city lake beaches.

Last summer, people swimming next to Paul Allen's house on Mercer Island in Lake Washington got swimmer's itch, and that area is pretty darned clean.

But the problem does mean an area has a lot of fowl feces - which also contains bacteria. Blame Canada geese. The average goose produces up to 3 pounds of feces every day. In most area parks, you can't spread out a blanket without running into goose droppings.

Last year, Juanita Beach near Kirkland was closed temporarily because of high bacteria levels in the water. The culprit? Goose poop.

"They defecate on the average of once every 12 minutes," said Roger Woodruff, the assistant state director for wildlife services for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "The old phrase, `Loose as a goose,' takes on a new meaning. They really are loose."

And the number of geese is growing - there are up to 25,000 waddling around the Puget Sound region, and the number grows about 15 percent every year, despite the efforts at controlling the population.

Government workers have tried shipping the geese to Eastern Washington and Idaho, but those areas don't want any more. They've tried egg addling, or coating goose eggs with mineral oil to prevent them from hatching. They've tried Mylar strips to scare geese away. Some park departments are hiring the Geese Police, trained dogs that chase away geese every day. Kirkland spends about $40,000 a year doing this.

Two years ago, the federal government started killing small numbers of problem geese, called "lethal control," despite criticism from animal-rights groups. Almost 600 have been killed in the Puget Sound region.

Now, the Department of Agriculture is finishing up an environmental assessment that is much more aggressive on killing geese. Public Health supports that recommendation. And the county Board of Health at its meeting today will hear a briefing about managing geese and lethal control.

Besides trying to get rid of the geese, parks workers have also changed the way they handle droppings. Most no longer hose or rake the waste into the water, but remove it. Lifeguards at Madison Beach spent three hours Monday cleaning up goose droppings, taking time away from swimming lessons.

It would really help, experts say, if people stopped feeding the fowl. Despite the warnings, some people just like to feed the birds.

Maya Bezzaz likes to come to Seward Park about once a week to feed the ducks. After work Tuesday, Bezzaz and a friend tossed chunks of bread at the water. They didn't wait long.

An armada of about 200 ducks and geese started swimming over. The geese - with all-black question-mark heads with white cheeks and gray plumage - led the march. Ducks hopped out of the water to fight over the food.

Bezzaz said throwing a loaf of bread was relaxing. She had never heard of swimmer's itch before. She said she felt like she was doing something for the birds, giving them bread instead of chips.

"Nobody has ever told me about any parasite," she said. "They've said don't feed them because it makes them poop more. But it's natural. There's nothing you can do about it." Kim Barker's phone-message number is 206-464-2255. Her e-mail address is: kbarker@seattletimes.com