A cluster of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in New Hampshire: A possible role for toxic cyanobacteria blooms

Caller, Tracie A.; Doolin, James; Haney, James F.; Murby, Amanda; West, Katherine G.; Farrar, Hannah E.; Ball, Andrea L.; Harris, Brent T.; Stommel, Elijah W.

doi:10.3109/17482960903278485

Cited by 139 publications

(107 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Affected waters include those used for drinking water supplies, livestock watering, fishing, crop irrigation and recreation . Human exposure to cyanobacterial blooms and their toxins is potentially widespread and can occur through several routes including accidental and/or incidental dermal contact, ingestion and inhalation during recreational and occupational activities (Pilotto et al, 2004;Stewart et al, 2006;Caller et al, 2009) and through the consumption of ineffectively-treated drinking water (Falconer et al, 1983), shellfish and finfish (Falconer et al, 1992) and spray-irrigated crops (Codd et al, 1999;Crush et al, 2008).…”

Section: Cyanobacteria and Human Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of risk perception on public preferences and willingness to pay for reductions in the health risks posed by toxic cyanobacterial blooms

Hunter

Hanley

Czajkowski

et al. 2012

Science of The Total Environment

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The NERC and CEH trademarks and logos ('the Trademarks') are registered trademarks of NERC in the UK and other countries, and may not be used without the prior written consent of the Trademark owner. 1The effect of risk perception on public preferences and willingness-to-pay for reductions in the health risks posed by toxic cyanobacterial blooms AbstractMass populations of toxin-producing cyanobacteria are an increasingly common occurrence in inland and coastal waters used for recreational purposes. These mass populations pose serious risks to human and animal health and impose potentially significant economic costs on society. In this study, we used contingent valuation to elicit public willingness-to-pay (WTP) for reductions in the health risks posed by blooms of toxin-producing cyanobacteria in Loch Leven, Scotland. We found that 55% of respondents (68% excluding protest voters) were willing-to-pay for a reduction in the number of days per year (from 90, to either 45 or 0 days) that cyanobacteria pose a risk to human health at Loch Leven. The mean WTP for a risk reduction was UK£7.91-9.55/household/year, estimated using a logistic spike model.In addition, we found that participation in the market for risk reductions, as well as the amount respondents were willing-to-pay, was strongly dependent on socioeconomic status, usage of the waterbody and attitudes to the environment, as well as individual-specific perceptions and attitudes to risk. This study demonstrates that anticipated health risk reductions are an important nonmarket benefit of improving water quality in recreational waters and should be accounted for in future cost-benefit analyses such as those being undertaken under the auspices of the European Union's Water Framework Directive, but also that such values depend on risk perceptions and attitudes.3

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Section: Cyanobacteria and Human Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of risk perception on public preferences and willingness to pay for reductions in the health risks posed by toxic cyanobacterial blooms

Hunter

Hanley

Czajkowski

et al. 2012

Science of The Total Environment

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“…Aerosols can arise for example through wave action, splashing, boating, showering, water hose mists, humidifier use as well as bubble formation (Schlichting, 1974) and exposure to biofilms in cooling towers (Hauer, Capek, & Bohmova, 2015). Caller et al (2009) reported higher ALS incidence for residents within 0.5 mile of, and especially downwind of, eutrophic New Hampshire lakes; similarly Bradley et al (2013) postulated that degree of ALS risk may be related to distance from water bodies which harbor cyanobacterial blooms. Such observations have implications for lakefront communities and cottage owners, as well as commercial fishers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fish this toxin increases with age (Lage et al, 2015), and carnivorous, filter-feeding and some omnivorous species are associated with the greatest biomagnifications, as are bottom feeding species (Jiao et al, 2014). A number of workers (Caller et al,2009(Caller et al, , 2012Bradley et al, 2013) have reviewed the putative links between regions subject to cyanobacterial blooms, for example proximity to lakes, agricultural lagoons or consumption of local fish, and clusters of ALS occurrence in the human population. Lake Winnipeg, the 10 th largest freshwater lake in the world, is of great importance for recreation, tourism, commercial and sport fisheries, and provides drinking water for several communities and many point-source users.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal Nearshore Occurrence of the Neurotoxin β N methylamino L alanine (BMAA) in Lake Winnipeg, Canada

Pip¹,

Munford²,

Bowman³

2016

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Seasonal fluctuation patterns of the neurotoxic amino acid β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) were examined at four-day intervals during the ice-free season in water at three nearshore stations in the south basin of Lake Winnipeg, Canada. BMAA patterns were significantly exponentially correlated with concurrent phaeophytin, and inversely with chlorophyll a, indicating that free BMAA concentrations increased as blooms declined. BMAA was also significantly related to preceding microcystin concentrations, and as chlorophyll a declined, the proportion of BMAA relative to microcystin increased. Cross correlations identified significant relationships between BMAA and immediately preceding nitrate-N/inorganic phosphorus ratios, nitrate-N, rainfall, and a marginal inverse correlation with inorganic phosphorus. Total suspended solids levels were also significantly associated with BMAA, likely due to shading effects. A very high BMAA concentration was found under collapse of intense bloom conditions. These results have implications for water quality monitoring, nutrient management strategies and public health.

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“…Apart from the findings reported above, research on the spatial distribution features of ALS incidence is scarce. The analysis of geographical patterns such as pollution (Caller et al, 2009;CaparrosLefebvre et al, 2006) and sunlight-deprivation (Sato et al, 1997) provide possible clues for the cause of ALS but no hard facts. Some studies employed spatial analysis techniques to examine spatial clusters of ALS but they only attempted to identify the geographical disparities in its distribution and did not offer any clear association with environmental factors (Caller et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climatic factors associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a spatial analysis from Taiwan

Tsai

Lee

2013

Geospat Health

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Abstract. Few studies have assessed the spatial association of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) incidence in the world. The aim of this study was to identify the association of climatic factors and ALS incidence in Taiwan. A total of 1,434 subjects with the primary diagnosis of ALS between years 1997 and 2008 were identified in the national health insurance research database. The diagnosis was also verified by the national health insurance programme, which had issued and providing them with "serious disabling disease (SDD) certificates". Local indicators of spatial association were employed to investigate spatial clustering of agestandardised incidence ratios in the townships of the study area. Spatial regression was utilised to reveal any association of annual average climatic factors and ALS incidence for the 12-year study period. The climatic factors included the annual average time of sunlight exposure, average temperature, maximum temperature, minimum temperature, atmospheric pressure, rainfall, relative humidity and wind speed with spatial autocorrelation controlled. Significant correlations were only found for exposure to sunlight and rainfall and it was similar in both genders. The annual average of the former was found to be negatively correlated with ALS, while the latter was positively correlated with ALS incidence. While accepting that ALS is most probably multifactorial, it was concluded that sunlight deprivation and/or rainfall are associated to some degree with ALS incidence in Taiwan.

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A cluster of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in New Hampshire: A possible role for toxic cyanobacteria blooms

Cited by 139 publications

References 41 publications

The effect of risk perception on public preferences and willingness to pay for reductions in the health risks posed by toxic cyanobacterial blooms

The effect of risk perception on public preferences and willingness to pay for reductions in the health risks posed by toxic cyanobacterial blooms

Seasonal Nearshore Occurrence of the Neurotoxin β N methylamino L alanine (BMAA) in Lake Winnipeg, Canada

Climatic factors associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a spatial analysis from Taiwan

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