Toxin talk in Miami.Summertime in the United States means crowds of people flocking to the coast to enjoy the beaches and oceans. For many people--with no small credit to Steven Spielberg--their biggest fear associated with the oceans is sharks. But a much more realistic and just as dangerous hazard may lurk beneath the waves. Marine and freshwater toxins such as ciguatoxins, saxitoxins, domoic acid, and brevetoxins are becoming more widespread around the world. These toxins may be eaten in seafood, ingested in ocean water, or breathed in the air, resulting in a wide range of effects including respiratory illness and paralytic paralytic /par·a·lyt·ic/ (par?ah-lit´ik) 1. affected with or pertaining to paralysis. 2. a person affected with paralysis. par·a·lyt·ic adj. 1. , neurotoxic neurotoxic pertaining to or emanating from a neurotoxin. neurotoxic state a case of poisoning by a neurotoxin. neurotoxic adjective , amnesic, and diarrheic shellfish poisoning. For people concerned about exposure to these toxins, help is just a phone call away. The toll-free Marine and Fresh Water Toxin Disease Reporting Hotline (1-888-232-8635) operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to provide diagnostic, treatment, and educational information. The hotline is a project of the Community Outreach and Education Program of the University of Miami This article is about the university in Coral Gables, Florida. For the university in Oxford, Ohio, see Miami University. The University of Miami (also known as Miami of Florida,[2] UM,[3] or just The U NIEHS NIEHS National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIH, DHHS) Marine and Freshwater Biomedical Sciences Center (MFBSC), in cooperation with the Florida Department of Health Florida Department of Health is a category of Government of Florida. Orange County Health Department is one of the branches of Florida Department of Health and Government of Florida. (FDH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), agency of the U.S. Public Health Service since 1973, with headquarters in Atlanta; it was established in 1946 as the Communicable Disease Center. (CDC See Control Data, century date change and Back Orifice. CDC - Control Data Corporation ). The hotline, which receives calls from all over Florida, the United States, and abroad, provides information primarily in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole (125 other translated languages are available). Callers can get referrals for clinical treatment and laboratory testing. Those who need more information are referred to personnel at the MFBSC, FDH, or CDC. More information is sent to callers at their request and is posted online at http://www.rsmas.miami.edul groups/niehs/general/readings.jsp. The hotline serves not only as an information resource, but also as a starting point for case surveillance of marine and freshwater toxin diseases, which are highly underreported. Better monitoring and understanding of these illnesses will help scientists and public health officials ensure that it's safe to go back in the water. |
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