Lessons From an Early-stage Epidemiological Study of Minamata Disease

Abstract

when Minamata disease happened. The article summarized findings from a very-earlyphase epidemiological study conducted by researchers from Kumamoto University immediately after the Minamata disease incident was officially recognized on May 1, 1956. The epidemiological study was very well-conducted in a timely manner and the article was available as early as January 1957 in an academic journal published by the Medical School at Kumamoto University. This is a very influential report that demonstrated associations between fish intake and the Minamata disease after careful descriptive and analytical epidemiological studies. Although the Japanese society should have taken some actions to prevent the disease with the evidence that a research group at Kumamoto University had at that time, the pollution was not stopped until 12 years had passed since the official identification in 1956. Moreover, the struggle with Minamata disease is still in progress. This unfavorable response by the Japanese society could partly be explained by the important economic role of the causative factory at that time, when Japan had recorded a trade deficit since the end of the Second World War. 2 Plastic products of the factory were key Japanese exports helping to reduce this deficit. In this commentary, after introducing the study by Kitamura and colleagues, I discuss the potentials of epidemiology, as well as consequences on public health that occurred when we did not follow the findings from the epidemiological study.

Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms Mediating Methylmercury Neurotoxicity and Neuroinflammation

“…The deadly consequences of organic mercury compounds have been demonstrated by mass-poisonings of human populations [ 29 ]. A severe MeHg intoxication occurred in Minamata and neighboring communities in Japan between the 1950s and 1960s [ 6 , 28 , 30 ]. This was the first and most famous event of severe MeHg poisoning caused by anthropogenic activities, later known as Minamata Disease [ 7 , 29 , 31 ].…”

“…This was the first and most famous event of severe MeHg poisoning caused by anthropogenic activities, later known as Minamata Disease [ 7 , 29 , 31 ]. The pollutant was produced from mercury as a by-product of acetaldehyde and vinyl compounds manufacturing by Chisso Co. Ltd. in Minamata City and discharged into the Minamata Bay [ 7 , 28 , 30 ]. This way, the population of the Minamata area that largely depended on fish and shellfish consumption from the Minamata Bay was contaminated with MeHg [ 7 , 28 , 31 , 32 ].…”

“…Affected individuals exhibited symptoms that indicate neurological alterations which include ataxia, visual field and hearing alterations, dysarthria, paresthesias in the distal parts of extremities, disequilibrium, gait impairment, tremors, muscle weakness, atypical eye movement, and seizures [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 33 ]. Occasionally, mental disorders and disturbances of smell and taste were also present [ 28 ].…”

Call for Papers—Journal of Epidemiology Reprints of Pioneering Papers Series: Spotlighting Little-Known Non-English Language Research Papers From Japan and Around the World

“…I feel certain that the readers of JE will find this research and the story of it just as exciting and informative as reading about John Snow's work for the first time, as the paper by Professor Kitamura and his coworkers together with Takashi Yorifuji's accompanying commentary provide a unique window into a world of, as yet, little-known but potentially valuable research. 2…”

Toxico-ecological Analysis of Mercury-contained Waste Management in Ukraine

“…Although the use of mercury (Hg) by mankind has been going on for centuries, fundamental and applied geochemical, ecological, hygienic and toxicological studies aimed at comprehensively studying and solving the problem of human safety of one of the most toxic chemical elements have been active since the mid-20th century, including in Ukraine [1][2][3][4][5].On the one hand, this was due to the growth of production and use of Hg in various spheres of economy and life, on the other hand, the growing number of acute, chronic poisonings, mercury-dependent pathological changes in the human body [6,7]. Among these is the infamous Minamata disease, which arose after a long diet of one of the regions of Japan contaminated with Hg seafood [8,9]. The multifaceted intersectoral problem of human security in contact with mercury has gained global significance, primarily due to its anthropogenic component.…”