TITLE: Toxic microbe infects Florida river
BYLINE: JAN HOLLINGSWORTH
CREDIT: of The Tampa Tribune
EST. PAGES: 2
DATE: 09/17/97
DOCID: TPTT9177145
SOURCE: The Tampa Tribune; TPTT
EDITION: FINAL; SECTION: NATION/WORLD; PAGE: 1
NOTES: Tribune researcher Buddy Jaudon contributed to this
report.; Read about more environmental issues on The Tampa Tribune's website at http://tampatrib.com/news/enviro.htm
(Copyright 1997)
SUMMARY: An organism that has forced the closure of three
waterways in Maryland also lurks in at least one river in Florida,
researchers say.
ST. PETERSBURG - A toxic microbe that may be wreaking havoc
in Chesapeake Bay tributaries is the same organism researchers
found last month in Jacksonville's St. Johns River. The microbe
has forced officials in Maryland to close waterways this summer
to fishing, crabbing and recreation.
It has been linked to lesions in fish and wide-ranging health
effects in anglers, water skiers and others. Similar problems
in two North Carolina rivers have been blamed on the same organism
and another toxic microbe.
The Florida Marine Research Institute, a division of the state
Department of Environmental Protection, is involved in investigation
of the matter. On Florida's east coast, the organism has been
linked to sick fish with open sores in the St. Johns.
No human health effects have been reported in Florida, though
people using the waterways in the other states have reported headaches,
memory loss, bleeding sores and other problems.
The previously unidentified microbe - part plant, part animal
- closely resembles another algae-like organism linked to massive
fish kills and human health problems in North Carolina's Neuse
and Pamlico rivers.
That organism is known as Pfiesteria piscicida - "the
cell from hell." It has been described as the equivalent
of a microscopic piranha, emitting a flesh-eating nerve poison.
The Maryland fish kills initially were thought to be the work
of Pfiesteria. But Karen Steidinger, a researcher with the Florida
DEP, believes they were caused by one or two impostors she recently
discovered at her laboratory in St. Petersburg.
JoAnn Burkholder, a North Carolina State University researcher
who discovered Pfiesteria in that state a few years ago, has confirmed
the identification of the look-alikes.
"Burkholder has described it exactly like Pfiesteria,
only it parts its hair on a different side," said Liz Kalinowski,
a spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Both Steidinger and Burkholder say at least two Pfiesteria
look-alikes have been identified at the scene in Maryland. While
one appears to be toxic, it is not known whether the second may
be involved in the fish kills.
Pfiesteria never has been identified in Florida waters, but
the toxic impostor has, Steidinger said. It was first identified
last month in the St. Johns.
It also has been identified in the North Carolina waters that
harbor Pfiesteria.
Whether "the cell from hell" is present in Maryland,
along with the look-alikes, is a matter of ongoing research.
"Whether it's Pfiesteria or a look-alike, we need to respond
in same way as far as the health of our bay and citizens,"
Kalinowski said.
The organisms are a not-so-distant cousin to saltwater red
tide blooms that plague Florida's west coast. Unlike red tide,
Pfiesteria and its look-alikes primarily live in estuaries and
near-shore waters.
A different species of saltwater organism is suspected in a
recent rash of fish kills on Florida reefs and in the Caribbean,
Steidinger said. Those organisms, like their freshwater cousins,
weaken the fish, paving the way for the invasion of bacteria.
In North Carolina and Maryland, scientists suspect - but have
not confirmed - that the explosion of Pfiesteria and its toxic
relatives is linked to unprecedented amounts of runoff of farm
fertilizers and manure.
Steidinger plans to train researchers in other states how to
identify the different organisms.
"They all might not produce toxins, so it is important
to know what you're dealing with," she said.
Other organisms could inhabit Maryland's rivers, too, she said.
"So we need to look at other possible causes as well."
ART: PHOTO (C);
Caption: (C) Research scientists Karen Steidinger and Earnest
Truby use an electron microscope to examine microbe-infested water.
MARK GUSS/Tribune photo
OTHER TERMS: ST. JOHN'S RIVER DUVAL FLA; WATER CONTAMINATION; PFIESTERIA
PISCICIDA; FLORIDA MARINE RESEARCH INSTITUTE INVESTIGATION; MARYLAND
USA; TLC