Public awareness of pfiesteria has resulted in bring to light numerous health issues that were previously unknown to occur in our coastal communities. Just as recently as September 29th, 2000 at the North Carolina University (HPLC ULTRA HIGH PRESSURE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY) facility a strain of the Chattonnella micro-organism was isolated and characterized as Chattonella veruculosa. This micro organism behaves similar to Pfiesteria micro toxin, causing fish kills, "red tides", and from empirical evidence being accumulated in Pokomoke Maryland, similar human health effects as pfiesteria.

NEW EVIDENCE LINKING ANIMAL MANURES USED AS FERTILIZERS
to Pfiesteria and Chattonella dinoflagellates
CLiCK HeRE

The area of Ocean City Maryland, the back bays of Assawoman Bay, the Bishopville Prong, Sinepuextent Bay, Indian River Bay, Little Indian River Bay, the Delaware River tributaries, and coastal Atlantic resemble many areas to our southern neighbors where the micro-toxin of Chattonnella subsalla exists. The strain of Chattonnella - veruculosa -, analysis just last September has the ability to survive in colder water temperatures.
A dinoflagellate, Chattonnella veruculosa, was documented to be in our inland bays and on the Atlantic coastline here in Delaware during the summer of 2000. This organism produces a biotoxin called a breve toxin which affects fish and mammals.

The problem we are trying to address is the notification of these toxins that are being release (fish kills and algae blooms), the locations and origin of the these toxins (back bays to coastal waters), the timeliness of these notifications (two week window of exposure), the mechanisms of exposure contamination's (air misting, physical contact, incidental contact), empirical evidence gathering information of the community (surveys of local inhabitants), and the availability of medical treatment for contamination of individuals. Most important of all, is the presentation of the problem to the public shall outweigh "economic" pitfalls from a very important problem in one of the highest cancer associated regions in the United States of America.

Let us digress for a moment and discuss neurotoxins.. theses are small chemicals produced by micro organisms that don't kill the nerves, but attach themselves to it, and impair the nerve functions. These toxins can exist in shellfish, oysters, clams, and muscles. They are not stored in shellfish like crabs, lobsters, and shrimp. Although these species are and can be exposed to the same toxins, the toxin is not stored in their fatty tissues.. The micro organisms produce the toxins, and in small quantities are harmless, but when events occur like algae blooms often known as "red tides," these organisms produce a quantity of toxins that is hazardous to humans, fish, and other mammal species (dolphins, whales, sea turtles, sea lions, etc...)

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Chattonella subsalsa
Florida’s Bayboro Harbor (Tampa Bay) clone produces brevetoxins, and will kill fish when purified.
Blooms of Chattonella are summer/fall events and will persist for one to five months.
Prefers lower salinity and grows well when waters are enriched by nitrogen and phosphorus.
During blooms, it will dominate the population but can co-occur with other species.
From older records when its identity was not known, Chattonella appears to have been a common species in Tampa Bay.

What we don’t know:
Since there are many areas of brackish waters around the state of Florida, the full distribution in Florida waters is not known.
Have Chattonnella blooms been associated with fish kills in the USA (as it has in Japan and other Asian countries)?
Does Chattonnella render shellfish (oysters, scallops and hard clams) toxic?
To what extent does pollution (nutrient enrichment) stimulates bloom formation?
What environmental factors make Chattonnella toxic?
What is the impact of Chattonnella blooms on humans?
Do Florida strains produce bottom-resting stages, as do other geographic strains?
Ecohab: Chattonella subsalsa
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The existence of neurotoxins in Delaware:
In the inland waters of eastern shore of Delaware, the State of Delaware has admitted publicly the the micro organism know as Chattonnella veruculosa - does exist, and is a producer of neurotoxins.

Neurotoxic Illness:
These compounds move from nerve, to muscle, to brain, to sinus, to eye, to GI tract, to skin and joint tissues. These symptom just don't go away but cause chronic illness. Even just breathing the air around the infected areas can cause a contamination. There is a time period before and after an algae bloom or fish kill, approximately two weeks, called recreational and residential contamination. This time period would be in the absence of "fish kills" warnings randomly being designated by state authorities....
First warnings of contamination......
multiple symptoms. Fatigue, weakness, muscle aches, cramps, unusual pains like and ice pick going in ones back or neck, muscle cramps. Also memory loss, especially short term assimilation of data, and sensitivity to bright light, like a new sensitivity to bright lights at night driving would bother you when it hadn't before. Respiratory illness, an increase irritation or chronic respiratory problems that don't go away, even after asthma medications.

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Where do these neurotoxins released by Chattonnella - verucusola - occur:
Toxins in mass quantities are released during algae blooms and designated by "fish kills". These occurrences are often first scene in back bays that harbor the highest quantities of the dinoflagellates in brackish waters. Chances of occurrences are often accompanied by high rain fall amounts, as scene in the DelMarVa (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia) coastal areas in the Summer and fall of 2000.
Outflows of the high concentration of the toxin producing dinoflagellates then flow south and out of tributaries, usually close to shoreline where water temperatures are higher and run off of high phosphate laden fresh water further feeds the algae blooms. As the brackish or fresher water is of less density than than the deeper higher salinity waters, it floats out further south and out to sea. One particular problem to the eastern shores of Delaware and Maryland are the patterns of eddies and currents that travel north to south along the coast.

Outflows from the Delaware River and Delaware Bays.. flow out to sea, but the currents and eddies come back onto land and travel south along the coast. Even though outflows may go out as far as a mile or so, they are pushed back to the coast unless strong offshore winds (west) push the top highly concentrated toxic waters away. Especially during the summer months when toxicity is highest... the sea breeze (easterly push of winds) pushes the toxic waters back to land... very much similar to the bath tub ring in you tub. The bath tub ring, represents the high concentration from the algae blooms that originated in the back bays of Delaware and Maryland.

Report:
Reference:
The following summary was presented at the Center for Disease Control Conference at Stone Mountain, Fall 2000.
Note: in more recent research by the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute in Albuquerque, N.M. and the U of N.C. Wilmington titled, "Toxicity and fate of brevetoxin in rats following administration via the respiratory tract".
…health effects associated with repeated inhalation of breve toxins(PbTxs) remain unknown.
…exposure caused slight pulmonary inflammation indicated by increase numbers on neutrophils and lymphocytes in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and in lung sections examined microscopically.
…radioactive tracers used with breve toxin 3 showed distribution throughout the body, chiefly to carcass, intestines, and liver within 30 minutes. Approximately 20% of the initial concentrations in lung, liver and kidney, were retained for 7 days. Breve toxin 3(PbTx-3) concentrations in brain and fat were low, but constant over time.
…The wide tissue distribution of breve toxins(PbTxs) and retention of these compounds or their metabolites in tissue suggest that the respiratory tract effects may only be a part of the overall toxicological consequences associated with PbTx inhalation.
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Through research utilizing the visual contrast test as an indicator of neurotoxicity, and the application of cholestyramine as a chemical binder to the brevetoxins in one's system, possibly a cure has been found for breve toxin interaction.

See for yourself. Take the visual contrast test at
VCS Test Center Chronic Neuro Toxins See if you have neurotoxins in your body. It could be from pesticides, smoke stacks or whatever. Do you have a chronic respiratory or other condition? Seeing is believing…After three weeks of cholestyramine treatment, I was astonished to see my visual contrast test results.

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REMEMBER: WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT IS A STRAIN OF AN ORGANISM THAT HAS BEEN DISCOVERED IN COLDER WATER TEMPERATURES THAT IS NOW KNOW TO EXIST IN THE COASTAL AND BAY AREAS OF THE EASTERN SHORE, AND ACTS AND BEHAVES IN THE SAME MANNER AS PFIESTERIA... THE ISSUE BEING THAT WARNING AND ALERTS AND ACTIONS ARE NOT BEING STATED OR TAKEN.

WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE: FISH KILLS AND RED TIDES

THE FACTS:
WHAT IS RED TIDE? Red tide is the result of a massive multiplication (or "bloom") of tiny, single celled algae called Gymnodinium breve (pronounced, "Jim-no-din-ee-um-bre-vay"), usually found in warm saltwater, but which can exist a lower temperatures. It is a natural phenomenon, apparently unrelated to manmade pollution. In high concentrations, G. breve may create a brownish red sheen on the surface of the water; in other instances, it may look yellow green, or may not be visible at all. Some red tides have covered up to several hundred square miles of water. No one can predict when or where red tides will appear or how long they will last since they are affected by many variables such as weather and currents.

WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?
G. breve blooms are initiated miles offshore of the Florida Gulf Coast, moving onshore with winds and ocean currents. Scientists believe that G. breve algae may enter a dormant state at some point in their life cycle, forming cysts which settle miles off the west coast of Florida in ocean bottom sediments creating a "seed bed" effect. They think that strong flows of warm water from the Gulf Stream may carry the algae up the East Coast and inshore to the Carolinas.

HOW DOES IT AFFECT HUMANS?
Irritations of the eyes, nose, throat, tingling lips and tongue are common symptoms that often occur during red tides. Waves, wind and boat propellers in high concentrations of red tides disperse toxin particles into the air causing these problems for people along the shoreline. People suffering from severe or chronic respiratory conditions such as emphysema or asthma, should try to avoid red tide areas. Symptoms usually disappear within 24 hours once the exposure is discontinued.

Algae blooms
Are responsible for oxygen deprivation killing of marine life.

"Red Tides"are created by microtoxic organisms, the organism themselves are not toxic, but they produce toxins that that indeed kill fish, cause neurological damage to marine mammals and humans, symptoms of respiratory illness, and muscle aches and pains.

"Red Tides" causing toxic killing of marine life.
The image is an AVHRR satellite infrared image depicting sea-surface temperature off the coast of North Carolina in late October, 1987.

This advanced, very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) photo shows a blue filament of Gulf Stream water (24-25°C) near Cape lookout that is now known to have transported toxic Gymnodinium breve cells from the Gulf Stream (deep blue), into the colder (yellow) coastal waters. The filament remained detectable in satellite images for three weeks. (T. Leming)
Notice the similarities of back bays and barrier island to Ocean City Maryland.



Currently there are investigations of increased "red tide" and algae blooms in Norway, showing these type of incidents experienced in a cold water scenario.

INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN SPECIES
BALLAST WATER CONTAMINATION
"Releases of ballast water from shipping pose potential hazards to marine and estuarine communities because of the possibility of introducing foreign pathogens of alien species to the environment. Many organisms, from fish to microorganisms, are known to be able to spread in ballast water, and are transferred between regions, countries and continents. Toxic species of dinoflagellates may be eaten by shellfish and result in food poisoning and human fatalities.

Some outbreaks of red tides (blooms of coloured planktonic algae) are a species not usually found locally, but have been introduced to the region, probably in ship ballast water. One example is the outbreak of a toxic algal species Chattonella in Sydney Harbour towards the end of 1996. Algal alerts were issued and people were advised to avoid contact with the water for several weeks because of intense blooms of this alga between Parramatta River and throughout the estuary to the Heads."


Another example of the toxicity that is produced by micro organisms similar to Chattonella can be found off the coast of Peru.

One of the most productive fishing areas in the world is along the Humboldt Current off the Peruvian coast in South America. During times of El Nino, the up welling that normal occurs is disturbed. This causes a disruption in the normal growth of anchovies which feeds the greater population of fish. A counter current brings warm water into the area and an additional occurrence of extreme blooms of a micro organism plankton and their associated die off. This is often referred to as Chio-Painter. The die off of the plankton results in huge amounts of hydrogen sulfide produced and this will actually peel the paint of the sides of boats.