Methylmercury poisoning

Minamata Bay disease; Basra poison grain poisoning

Methylmercury is a type of mercury, a metal that is liquid at room temperature. A nickname for mercury is quicksilver. Most compounds containing mercury are poisonous. Methylmercury is a very poisonous form of mercury. It forms when bacteria react with mercury in water, soil, or plants. It has been used to preserve grain that is fed to animals.

Methylmercury poisoning has occurred in people who have eaten meat from animals that ate grain that was treated with this from of mercury. Poisoning from eating fish from water that is contaminated with methylmercury has also occurred. One such body of water is Minamata Bay in Japan.

Methylmercury is used in fluorescent lights, batteries, polyvinyl chloride, and latex paint. It is a common pollutant of air and water.

Unborn babies and infants are very sensitive to methylmercury's effects. Methylmercury causes central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) damage. How bad the damage is depends on how much poison gets into the body. Many of the symptoms of mercury poisoning are similar to symptoms of cerebral palsy. In fact, methylmercury is thought to cause a form of cerebral palsy.

The FDA recommends that women who are pregnant, or may become pregnant, and nursing mothers avoid fish that may contain unsafe levels of methylmercury. This includes swordfish, king mackerel, shark, and tilefish. Infants should not eat these fish, either. No one should eat any of these fish caught by friends and family. Check with your local or state health department for warnings against locally caught, noncommercial fish.

Some health care providers have raised concerns about ethyl mercury (thiomersal), a chemical used in some vaccines. However, research shows that childhood vaccines do not lead to dangerous mercury levels in the body. Vaccines used in children today only contain trace amounts of thiomersal. Thiomersal-free vaccines are available.

Symptoms of methylmercury poisoning include:

• Blindness
• Cerebral palsy (movement and coordination problems, and other complications)
• Deafness
• Growth problems
• Impaired mental functioning
• Lung function impairment
• Small head

Tests will vary, depending on a person's symptoms.

Methylmercury damage cannot be reversed. Treatment will depend on how severe a person's condition is. It is similar to treatment for cerebral palsy. The person should be moved away from the source of exposure to methylmercury. Treatment may involve:

• Activated charcoal by mouth or tube through the nose into the stomach, if mercury is swallowed
• Blood and urine tests
• Breathing support, including oxygen, tube through the mouth into the throat, and breathing machine
• Chest x-ray
• Dialysis (kidney machine)
• EKG (electrocardiogram, or heart tracing)
• Fluids through a vein (by IV)
• Medicine to treat symptoms

The symptoms cannot be reversed. However, they do not usually get worse unless there is a new exposure to methylmercury, or the person is still exposed to the original source.

Complications depend on how severe a person's condition is, and what their specific symptoms are (such as blindness or deafness).

Methylmercury poisoning has been linked to an increased heart attack rate.

Your local poison center can be reached directly by calling the national toll-free Poison Help hotline (1-800-222-1222) from anywhere in the United States. This national hotline number will let you talk to experts in poisoning. They will give you further instructions.

This is a free and confidential service. All local poison control centers in the United States use this national number. You should call if you have any questions about poisoning or poison prevention. It does NOT need to be an emergency. You can call for any reason, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Take the container with you to the hospital, if possible.

Avoiding any foods contaminated with methylmercury will prevent poisoning. Because of manufacturing, mercury has become so common in the environment that trace amounts of methylmercury are present in many foods from the ocean, including deep-sea tuna. Fortunately, the levels are low enough that most of these foods remain safe.

Avoid contact with industrial products that contain mercury. Contact poison control if you believe you may have been exposed.