DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Health officials are in the process of testing beaches in Miami-Dade and Broward counties for red tide.
Results from the tests conducted in Broward and Miami-Dade are expected to come back later in the week.
The results for Broward were originally set to be released on Wednesday afternoon, but have since been pushed back to as late as Friday.
News that Miami-Dade beaches were being tested came just a day after tests were announced in Deerfield Beach. Red tide has already been confirmed to have been found in the waters of some Palm Beach areas.
“As soon as I go near the water, I start sneezing and my nose burns,” said beachgoer Leah Sosa. “We’ve been here for like an hour, and we’re like, ‘We gotta go.'”
Many red tides produce toxic chemicals that can impact marine life and humans. Karenia Brevis, the organism that causes red tide, releases an odorless toxin into the air that can cause respiratory irritation, including coughing, sneezing and an itchy throat.
If red tide is confirmed in Deerfield Beach, health officials will order the beach to be closed.
7News spoke Broward Health Medical Center Dr. Glenn Singer, who said if you’re a healthy person, your symptoms could be as minor as only a sneeze or cough. However, if you suffer from asthma, your symptoms could be long-term.
“It’s been shown that the toxin is so small that it can blow in as much as a mile inland,” he said. “For our asthma patients, our patients with chronic lung disease, emphysema, bronchitis, it’s a little bit worrisome, and they could have several days of problems if they’re not careful.”
Although test results in Broward have not yet been released, some beachgoers were feeling the effects of red tide.
“We’d just come out from having a meal, and I just started coughing, and it’s something in the air?” one woman said as she was leaving a restaurant by the beach.
“My throat’s just a little scratchy,” another beachgoer added.
Even some residents at a hotel on Miami Beach were complaining of similar symptoms.
Fishermen at the iconic Deerfield Beach pier also expressed concern over the possibility of red tide in the area.
“It does put me on edge because if they close the beaches, I’m not gonna come around and keep fishing or eating them,” Ryan Campbell said. “As of this point in Deerfield, I think I’m OK.”
One doctor advised fishers to be aware of what they see in the water.
“It’s the toxin levels that we have to worry about,” Dr. J. William Louda said. “If there are dead fish around, I wouldn’t eat any fish that I’m catching.”
Deerfield Beach Mayor William Ganz met with the media Wednesday evening to weigh in on the delayed test results.
“We’re in a little bit of a limbo right now and this does have an impact on public safety,” he said. “I would think that there would be a sense of urgency.”
According to health officials, fish are safe to eat because the toxins are digested through the stomach and do not linger in the meat that would be consumed, but they recommended that the fish be cut into fillets and fully cooked.
Health officials said red tide very rarely shows up on Florida’s East Coast and when it does, it doesn’t stay for long.
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