Name : Nur Rahmi

Class 2 :2
Student ID : 20170181016

The Questions

1.What is the cause of Minamata disease?

Answer :

Minamata disease (M. d.) is methylmercury (MeHg) poisoning that occurred in humans
who ingested fish and shellfish contaminated by MeHg discharged in waste water from a
chemical plant (Chisso Co. Ltd.).

Cause of Minamata disease The marine products in Minamata Bay displayed high levels
of Hg contamination (5.61 to 35.7 ppm), daily intake of fish and shellfish highly contaminated
by methylmercury.

2.What are the clinical manifestations, hazards and consequences of Minamata disease?

Answer :

1. Clinical manifestations
Symptoms and sign :
a. Severe uncontrollable tremors.
b. Loss of motor control.
c. Sensory loss affecting both auditory and visual senses.
d. Partial paralysis.
e. Loss of muscle control during voluntary movements, known as ataxia.
f. Numbness in the extremitites like the hands and feet.
g. Speech impairment may also be observed.
h. Impact in children and infants :
- Cerebral palsy,which not surprising as it result in impaired neurological
development and causes seizures.
- Growth and development problems with both physical and mental health.
- Microcephaly, a neurodevelopment disorder in children.
- Mental retardation.
- Blindness and deafness.
2. Hazard an consequences of Minamata disease
Hazard : Neurological disorders in humans caused by methylmercuric chloride
(CH3HgCl) are referred to as Minamata disease. CH3HgCl accumulates in the central
nervous in rather large proportions after ingestion or after intravenous or intraperitoneal
administration.
3.Briefly describe the performance of bioaccummulation and biomagnification in
Minamata disease?

Answer:

bioaccummulation and biomagnification in Minamata disease :

The less toxic inorganic mercury gets converted through biomethylation to more toxic form of
mercury. The schematic representation of mercury’s environmental cycling, biomethylation, and
food chain transfer is under is shown in Fig. 6.6.

Anthropogenic sources, such as coal burning and mining of iron, can contaminate water sources
with methylmercury. Methylmercury is absorbed in the bodies of fish through the process of
biomagnification; mercury levels in each successive predatory stage increase
 The bioaccumulation levels of these harmful substances are affected by the degrees of
pollution in the food and of biomagnification; however, which of these sources is more important
is not well-investigated for mercury (Hg) bioaccumulation. Here we addressed this issue in fishes
that inhabit the waters around Minamata Bay, located off the west coast of Kyushu Island in
Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. The total Hg concentration (hereafter [THg]) and carbon and
nitrogen stable isotope ratios (δ13C and δ15N) were analyzed in the muscle tissue of 10 fish
species, of which more than five individuals were caught by gillnet.

Except one species, each was separated into two trophic groups with respective lower and
higher δ13C values ranging from -17‰ to -16‰ and -15‰ to -14‰, which suggested that the
fishes depended more on either phytoplankton- and microphytobenthos-derived foods (i.e.,
pelagic and benthic trophic pathways), respectively. Linear mixed effects models showed that the
Hg levels were significantly associated with both δ15N and the differences in the trophic groups.
[THg] increased with δ15N (i.e., indicative of higher trophic levels), but the slopes did not differ
between the two trophic groups. [THg] was significantly higher in the group with higher δ13C
values than in those with lower δ13C values.

The effect size from marginal R squared (R2) values showed that the variation in [THg]
was strongly ascribed to the trophic group difference rather than δ15N. These results suggest that
the substantial Hg bioaccumulation in the fishes of Minamata Bay is mainly an effect of
ingesting the microphytobenthos-derived foods that contain Hg, and that the subsequent
biomagnification is secondary.

4.In order to find out the cause of an unknown disease, what kind of investigation will you
make?

Answer :

epidemiologic investigation begins—that is, if no one is being further exposed to the source of
infection—investigating the outbreak may still be indicated for many reasons. Foremost is that
the results of the investigation may lead to recommendations or strategies for preventing similar
future outbreaks.

indistinguishable from other epidemiologic investigations; however, outbreak investigations

encounter more constraints :

1) If the outbreak is ongoing at the time of the investigation, there is great urgency to find the
source and prevent additional cases.

2) Because outbreak investigations frequently are public, there is substantial pressure to conclude
them rapidly, particularly if the outbreak is ongoing.

3) In many outbreaks, the number of cases available for study is limited; therefore, the statistical
power of the investigation is limited.

4) Early media reports concerning the outbreak may bias the responses of persons subsequently
interviewed.

5) Because of legal liability and the financial interests of persons and institutions involved, there
is pressure to conclude the investigation quickly, which may lead to hasty decisions regarding
the source of the outbreak.

6) If detection of the outbreak is delayed, useful clinical and environmental samples may be very
difficult or impossible to obtain.

Outbreak investigations have essential components as follows:

1) establish case definition(s);

2) confirm that cases are "real";

3) establish the background rate of disease;

4) find cases, decide if there is an outbreak, define scope of the outbreak;

5) examine the descriptive epidemiologic features of the cases;

6) generate hypotheses;

7) test hypotheses;

8) collect and test environmental samples;

9) implement control measures; and

10) interact with the press, inform the public.

While the first seven components are listed in logical order, in most outbreak
investigations, many occur more or less simultaneously. The importance of these components
may vary depending on the circumstances of a specific outbreak.

5.How to prevent problems like the Minamata disease?

Answer :

Minamata disease can be prevented by reducing or eliminating one's consumption of

fish caught from bodies of water that are contaminated with high concentrations of mercury.