Currently, no incidents of itchy rashes covering some part of swimmers’ bodies after swimming at Da Nang’s beaches have been reported. Accordingly, no complaints on post-swimming rashes have been made at the beaches of My Khe, Phuoc My and Man Thai in Son Tra District.

Many swimmers seen at the Khue My bathing area on Wednesday afternoon

According to Mr Tran Dai Nghia, the Deputy Head of the Management Board of the Son Tra Peninsula and Da Nang Tourism Beaches, the incident of post-swimming rashes started to alleviate several days ago, and now comes to an end. Local beaches are completely safe for swimming as usual.

The municipal Department of Natural Resources and the Environment said a certain kind of marine alga was found in seawater samples which had been taken previously from the city’s beaches for testing at the Nha Trang Oceanography Institute.

Nevertheless, there have been no specific scientific documents proving that this kind of marine alga is responsible for swimmers’ rashes.

The result of the tests did not show any pollution or poor quality because sea water quality parameters are within allowable limits, and they entirely meet the national standards for swimming and water sports activities.

The current degree of marine species diversity does not exceed the limits.  

Meanwhile, according to many fishermen and swimmers, the recent appearance of starfish and jellyfish is thought to cause bathers’ itchy rashes via their direct contact. In fact, these kinds of marine creatures usually appear between March and August, especially on the rise during prolonged scorching weather.