Copyright 1998 The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC)
The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC)
May 8, 1998, Friday, POST AND COURIER EDITION
SECTION: B, Pg. 3
LENGTH: 701 words
HEADLINE: S.C. task force ready if Pfiesteria breaks out
BYLINE: TONY BARTELME; Of The Post and Courier
BODY:
A task force of state and federal agencies rolled out its battle
plan to deal with outbreaks of Pfiesteria, a flesh-eating microbe
that made headlines last summer when it sickened fishermen and
swimmers in the Chesapeake Bay.
Scientists said Thursday that they don't expect any major Pfiesteria-related
fish kills in South Carolina.
In recent years, the microbe attacked fish in coastal North
Carolina rivers, leaving millions of carcasses on the banks and
riverbeds.
Last summer, officials in Maryland closed sections of three
rivers flowing into the Chesapeake because of fish kills. Some
fishermen and at least one water skier developed skin disorders,
learning and memory disorders and respiratory problems.
All this prompted what some have dubbed "Pfiesteria hysteria."
The Maryland seafood industry lost an estimated $ 45 million last
year because of the microbe. Officials in South Carolina fielded
calls from nervous tourists wondering if the state's beaches and
lakes were safe for swimming.
In response, local hospitals and state and federal agencies
put together an extensive monitoring and public education program.
"The public and press (in Maryland) didn't have the information
to make a reasoned response," said Fred Holland of the S.C.
Department of Natural Resources. "We realized a similar sequence
of events could happen in South Carolina."
One of the task force's goals "is to inform people without
scaring them," added Jerry Gibson, an epidemiologist with
the state Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Described by scientists as "the phantom," Pfiesteria
piscicida and several related species have the ability to change
forms - from a seedlike cyst that rests harmlessly on a river
bottom to a ferocious, two-tailed killer that feeds on blood.
It seems to prefer slow-moving, brackish waters - not beaches
or fresh-water lakes and rivers. It's not a virus or a fungus,
and it's not contagious.
Researchers have found the organism in two places north of
Georgetown and near Charleston in recent years, but scientists
believe it has been in local waters for millions of years.
"We have to draw a distinction between where it's found
and where it's a problem," said Alan Lewitus, a researcher
from the University of South Carolina and Baruch Marine Lab.
Scientists say Pfiesteria seems to thrive in waters with high
nutrient levels - pollution caused by runoff from golf courses,
lawns, discharges from wastewater treatment plants and other sources.
Pfiesteria is a warning that nature is out of balance, Lewitus
said.
Hog and chicken farms, which create huge amounts of waste,
have polluted North Carolina and Maryland waterways and are considered
among the prime suspects in Pfiesteria-related fish kills.
South Carolina's coast is less polluted, though increasing
development could change that.
Pfiesteria outbreaks are part of a larger problem, scientists
say. Across the world, harmful alga blooms, sometimes called
red tides, kill marine life and foul beaches. Some researchers
say these red tides are increasing - the result of more and
more polluted runoff.
"When people hear that nutrients are increasing, they
think it must be John's Sewer Company or a golf course,"
said Butch Younginger of DHEC. "But the public doesn't stop
to think that when they fertilize their lawn 14 times a year,
most of that will run into the creek every time it rains."
PFIESTERIA FACTS:
DESCRIPTION: One-celled organism that can change into different
24 forms.
WHERE IT LIVES: In brackish waters - not freshwater lakes or beaches.
IS PFIESTERIA AT WORK? Look for dead fish with sores and lesions.
(Don't touch them.) Pfiesteria-laced waters usually are foamy
and the color of coffee.
PFIESTERIA SYMPTOMS: Skin disorders, respiratory irritation, learning
disorders, memory losss and confusuion. Symptoms can last two
or three months. No one is reported to have died from Pfiesteria
exposure.
TO REPORT A FISH KILL: Call DHEC at 1-888-481-0125 Call DNR at
1-800-922-5431
WHO TO CALL IF YOU FEEL YOU'VE BEEN EXPOSED: Family doctor Department
of Health and Environmental Control (Charleston -740-1590, Beaufort
- 522-9097, Georgetown - 448-1902)
GRAPHIC: PHOTO; B&W staff graphic of Pfiesteria Facts (text
included)
LOAD-DATE: May 9, 1998