SAN FRANCISCO, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Swimming in the ocean could mean facing increased vulnerability to infection as a result of changing the human skin microbiome, ultimately leading to higher health risks, said a study released Saturday.

Scientists from the University of California, Irvine conducted research to determine the links between infections and ocean swimming.

The researchers found that even about 10 minutes of swimming in the ocean could result in normal skin bacteria on human skins washed away and replaced with those from the ocean.

"Our data demonstrate for the first time that ocean water exposure can alter the diversity and composition of the human skin microbiome," said Marisa Nielsen, lead author of the study presented to ASM Microbe 2019, an annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) being held here until Monday.

She said one finding suggested that Vibrio bacteria, which may not make people sick, were found present on human skin after swimming, and the amount of the bacteria species was more than 10 times greater than the fraction in the ocean water sample.

Nielsen said previous research has indicated human skin microbiome plays an important role in the function of the human immune system, and a healthy microbiome can protect people from infections caused by pathogenic microbes attached to human skin.