1/3. mycobacterium marinum infection from a tropical fish tank. Treatment with trimethoprim and sulphamethoxazole.A paronychial granuloma on the left thumb, in a man who kept tanks of tropical fish, was followed by cutaneous nodules on the left upper limb and tender lymph nodes in the left axilla. mycobacterium marinum was isolated from the lesion on the thumb and also from the tank water. Subsidence of the lesions followed administration of trimethoprim and sulphamethoxazole.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = water (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/3. Insidious effects of a toxic estuarine dinoflagellate on fish survival and human health.The estuarine dinoflagellate pfiesteria piscicida gen. et sp. nov. produces exotoxin(s) that can be absorbed from water or fine aerosols. culture filtrate (0.22 microns porosity filters, > 250 toxic flagellated cells/ml) induces formation of open ulcerative sores, hemorrhaging, and death of finfish and shellfish. Human exposure to aerosols from ichthyotoxic cultures (> or = 2000 cells/ml) has been associated with narcosis, respiratory distress with asthma-like symptoms, severe stomach cramping, nausea, vomiting, and eye irritation with reddening and blurred vision (hours to days); autonomic nervous system dysfunction [localized sweating, erratic heart beat (weeks)]; central nervous system dysfunction [sudden rages and personality change (hours to days), and reversible cognitive impairment and short-term memory loss (weeks)]; and chronic effects including asthma-like symptoms, exercise fatigue, and sensory symptoms (tingling or numbness in lips, hands, and feet; months to years). Elevated hepatic enzyme levels and high phosphorus excretion in one human exposure suggested hepatic and renal dysfunction (weeks); easy infection and low counts of several T-cell types may indicate immune system suppression (months to years). pfiesteria piscicida is euryhaline and eurythermal, and in bioassays a nontoxic flagellated stage has increased under P enrichment (> or = 100 micrograms SRP/L), suggesting a stimulatory role of nutrients. Pfiesteria-like dinoflagellates have been tracked to fish kill sites in eutrophic estuaries from delaware Bay through the Gulf Coast. Our data point to a critical need to characterize their chronic effects on human health as well as fish recruitment, disease resistance, and survival.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = water (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/3. Neurologic symptoms following Pfiesteria exposure: case report and literature review.Although the recently identified dinoflagellate, pfiesteria piscicida, may have neurotoxic effects on humans, the precise nature of the neurologic symptoms associated with varying levels of exposure is unknown. Toward this end, we review the neurologic symptoms of three Pfiesteria-exposed laboratory workers reported to data and compare them to the evaluation of an exposed waterman from maryland. The occupational exposure of a maryland waterman appears to produce a mild, reversible encephalopathy which predominantly affects functions associated with the frontal and temporal lobes. A comprehensive neurologic examination is recommended for all pfiesteria piscicida and morphologically related organism-exposed, symptomatic persons.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = water (Clic here for more details about this article) |