Microcystin algae contaminates drinking water causing water ban
Microcystin is a type of blue green algae that is a neurotoxin. Drinking water contaminated with microcystin is fatal to digs and causes vomited, nausea and diarrhea in humans. A recent bloom of microcystin in Ohio and Michigan has caused a ban on the city water supply.
What are microcystin algae?
The algae are found in many fresh water lakes but can grow to toxic levels when the water heats up in the summer. The addition of chemicals like garden fertilizers, speeds up this process, causing what is known as an “algae bloom.” The bloom looks like lime green pudding on the top of the water. It has a jelly=like consistency but can easily be washed off. Microcystin is a type of cyanobacterium in fresh water.
What are the symptoms of microcystin poisoning?
People who drink the water may feel like they are coming down with the flu. Dizziness, nausea, vomiting are common. Muscle pain is also typical. Symptoms can begin within hours after drinking the water. It can feel like the beginnings of food poisoning, or stomach flu. Symptoms can also include lethargy, weakness and bloody diarrhea. Liver failure has been know to occur as in 1996 when 131 dialysis patients in Brazil were accidentally given dialysis with water containing microcystin. Fifty-six of those patients died within seven moths of exposure with a condition now referred to as “Caruaru Syndrome”. These symptoms of microcystin consumption include blurred vision, jaundice, headaches, hepatomegaly, and
A bloom occurring in Toledo Ohio and South East Michigan has caused officials to recommend a ban on drinking the water from the Toledo Ohio water system. The warning applies to the Michigan cities of Bedford, La Salle, Erie and Luna Pier. Any water from the Collin Park Water Treatment Plant in Toledo contains some levels of microcystin, as of Sunday Aug 2.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12505349
http://www.wxyz.com/news/region/monroe-county/water-ban-issued-for-southern-county-residents-who-get-water-through-south-county-water-agreement
http://www.azom.com/news.aspx?newsID=35621
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