News that Bermuda’s beaches could be contaminated by hazardous levels of sewage pollution is spreading across the US.

The Washington Post newspaper, which has 17 million readers, has now picked up the story after The Royal Gazette broke the news three weeks ago.

An article headlined ‘Is Bermuda’s beach sewage problem par for the course, or a rarity?’ in Thursday’s edition of the broadsheet recounted the experiences of two visitors who claimed to have experienced health problems after swimming here.

“I came down with a major ear infection on my third day there, which required immediate medical attention,” Ken Siegfried, who holidayed in Bermuda last summer, was quoted as saying.

Mr Siegfried suffered a fever and loss of hearing in one ear for two weeks, according to The Post.

“I’m wondering if this infection was caused by the raw sewage and the danger it can bring with it,” he said.

And Susan Stirling, a former marketing director of Business Bermuda said she noticed “black, greasy objects” in the water when she went swimming.

“On those days, my Bermudan friends just blamed the mess on stuff coming out of the caves polluted by the US bases,” she said.

Ms Stirling later returned to her native Toronto after developing a “rapidly growing” cancer, which is now in remission.

Last week the US Consulate warned its citizens that the Island’s beaches could be a health hazard due to sewage contamination. And it advised US tourists planning to swim off the south shore to consider immunisations for Hepatitis A and typhoid.

The warning was issued after this newspaper revealed that, according to a study last year, hazardous waste from the Hamilton Seabright sewage pipeline has been contaminating the waters off south shore beaches during rare, sustained weather patterns.

The study measured human bacteria counts climbing as high as double, triple, and quadruple the US standard for contamination levels during strong easterly winds, tide and swell. Government has played down the health risks, insisting that contamination was extremely rare, involved limited areas and lasted for short periods — a fact that The Post’s article highlighted.

The story also quoted a Tourism official who said that test samples continually met US standards of safety.

And it pointed out that even US beaches can be shut down because of potential health hazards.

“If you’re thinking of catching a few waves on your San Diego vacation, consumer advocate John Mattes warns that Imperial Beach is closed from time to time because of raw sewage pumped into the ocean from Mexico,” journalist Christopher Elliott said.

And Mr Elliott’s included some positive coverage for the Island.

“Bermuda is one of the most beautiful islands in the Atlantic, if not the world,” he declared.

“With its dramatic cliffs, turquoise waters and trademark pastel cottages, it’s a destination everyone should visit at least once.

“And while these claims of coastal contamination appear to be relatively isolated for now, they do raise a broader question for travellers planning a summer vacation: How much do you know about the water you’re swimming in?

“And what is a destination obliged to tell you?”