Copyright 1998 Stuart News Company
The Stuart News/Port St. Lucie News (Stuart,FL)
April 30, 1998, Thursday
SECTION: A Section; Pg. A1
LENGTH: 748 words
HEADLINE: DOCTOR SAYS ILLNESS RELATED TO FISH KILL
BYLINE: Debi Pelletier of the News staff
BODY:
Troubled Waters
Symptoms appearing on the Treasure Coast are similar to those
seen in Maryland.
Valerie Gryniuk, administrator at the Martin County Health
Department,said six people have complained of problems after being
on or near the water. She described some of their symptoms as
gastrointestinal complaints, skin rashes and breathing problems,
all of which were different in each person.
STUART - A Maryland physician who said he has treated dozens
of people for illnesses related to Pfiesteria, a microorganism
blamed for the deaths of millions of fish, said human health problems
being reported on the Treasure Coast are "typical symptoms
of Pfiesteria."
Pfiesteria has been linked to huge fish kills last year off
the coasts of North Carolina and Maryland. It's also been implicated
in more than 50 >reported cases of human health problems, mostly
among people who worked or played on >the water.
Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker of Pocomoke City, Md., is credited with
being >among the first to demonstrate a link between Pfiesteria
and human illness. He said Wednesday he's received calls from
four people locally who reported exposure symptoms.
"They have been referred for additional testing to a physician
in Stuart," Shoemaker said. He declined to identify the doctor,
but said "he knows what to look for, how to do the evaluation
and is aware of the clinical syndromes from (such organisms)."
Although Pfiesteria has not been found in Florida, a very similar
microalgae, Cryptoperidiniopsis, has been identified in five areas
of the St. Lucie >Estuary. The two are so similar that federal,
state and county health officials are on the alert for potential
health problems.
Six Atlantic states, including Florida, have received funding
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to monitor
and study health effects caused by dinoflagellates, the class
of organisms to which Pfiesteria and >Crypto belong.
Valerie Gryniuk, administrator at the Martin County Health
Department, said six people have complained of problems after
being on or near the water. She described some of their symptoms
as gastrointestinal complaints, skin >rashes and breathing
problems, all of which were different in each person.
Shoemaker said those are the same symptoms reported to him.
"We have lesions, memory loss and diarrhea in one person.
We have fatigue, memory loss and cough and diarrhea in another,
worsening lung disease in >one and then memory loss, muscle
aching and severe doubling-over, cramping belly >pain in the
fourth with shortness of breath," he said, calling those
classic >Pfiesteria symptoms.
Shoemaker said the critical issue now is to verify the memory
loss complaints with the proper tests. "Getting a neurocognitive
test done is not a routine procedure in a primary-care office,"
he said.
In the meantime, state and county health officials are gearing
up for a >more aggressive approach to find possible exposure
cases.
"We're talking about sometime in the future doing a proactive
study," >Gryniuk said. "Going to the beaches where
the people are in the water, instead of waiting for them to come
to us."
School nurses who see sick students will ask them questions
about possible exposure to the water, and a county epidemiologist
will contact area >physicians to see if they've been getting
cases, said Bob Washam, the environmental >health manager.
"We're getting existing staff to do more active questioning,"
Washam >said. "I don't think we're going to hire anyone
unless we get the funding for that."
In Tallahassee, officials have used a $ 200,000 grant from
the CDC to hire epidemiologist Alan Rowan for a study on the health
effects of toxic algae blooms.
"We'll respond immediately whenever there is a fish event
anywhere in the state, " Rowan said. "I'll contact anybody
or everybody" who has a complaint.
He said he won't interfere with county health officials, but
will assist during a sick-fish outbreak if asked. So far, he said,
the Treasure Coast >is the only area in the state where officials
are looking at possible health effects.
Rowan will be in Atlanta late next week to meet with CDC and
state health officials from Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, North
Carolina and South >Carolina, all of whom are studying the
problem.
It's more of a technical meeting, said its coordinator, Dr.
Carol Rubin, >"to make sure all the data is collected
and (input) in the same way so that >there is conformity in
the data."
LOAD-DATE: May 1, 1998