Algal bloom inquiry quizzes health chief about respiratory illness concerns

South Australia's public health chief says there is a need for more data analysis to determine whether there has been an increase in respiratory illness linked to the state's algal bloom.

Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier fronted a state parliamentary committee on Wednesday to answer questions about the responses of SA Health to the bloom and the changing circumstances surrounding it.

Those responses have previously come under scrutiny, and in September were criticised by a south coast resident who said it was "irresponsible" of health authorities not to have more widely communicated key advice for asthma patients.

That followed the detection of brevetoxin in sea foam.

Professor Spurrier today told the committee that work was being done to better understand health impacts.

She said while there was no "systematic way of collecting information" directly from GPs, authorities had other sources, including local health networks and surf life saving patrols.

"We do need to look at it at a population level," she said.

"We've pulled the initial data and then we need to correlate it with the conditions — the algal conditions, the cell count and our weather conditions.

Professor Spurrier said while it was possible many people had experienced symptoms, those symptoms tended to be "short-lived" and "non-specific" and there was no way of "definitively" linking them to the bloom.

But she said she was not receiving anecdotal reports from colleagues, including hospital staff, to suggest an unusual respiratory caseload.

"I haven't been alerted by any of them to say we've got ward loads of people with unusual respiratory infections or conditions we can't explain," she said.

Asked specifically about pneumonia, Professor Spurrier said the data from last year was "very similar to this year".

"As the chief public health officer, I am not convinced that brevetoxin causes pneumonia, with the evidence presented to date," she said.

'No intention of closing beaches'

Last month, new research led by the University of Technology Sydney's Shauna Murray indicated that the algal species Karenia cristata — not Karenia mikimotoi, as previously believed — had been the dominant species for the majority of the bloom's existence.

Karenia cristata, unlike mikimotoi, produces brevetoxins — neurotoxic shellfish poisons which can be found in shellfish, like oysters and mussels, and can cause vomiting and other health impacts if ingested.

"Professor Murray actually provided us with an early version [of the research], so we were able to provide some feedback," Professor Spurrier told the committee.

"Because of course they're writing something without having had a conversation, they're not working in South Australia, she's not a medical doctor and she's not aware of the information that we have about the health impacts from our perspective."

Professor Spurrier cautioned against kneejerk responses, saying there would be "worse public health outcomes if we overreact in this situation".

"I have no intention of closing a beach because I don't think it's proportionate," she said.

She said health authorities continued to work with swimming lesson provider VacSwim to ensure children had the same level of water safety training.

"If we've got a generation of kiddies in South Australia who don't know how to swim, we're going to have more drownings," she said.

"There's been work done too to open up public pools as well and have contingency plans."