For those of you tracking local/global issues in food systems.
I've mentioned that I grew up in a shipbuilding family (they'd been
thrown off their land and moved to the city and became warriors and
sailors). This sort of thing was supper-table talk Chez Sinex in the
1960s; my father, with his 7th grade education, wasn't considered a
reputable source of epidemiological prognostication. But I remember
him talking about the dangers of carrying ballast water between
ports in different parts of the world, particularly between warm
water ports. The thing he expressed concern about was cholera. That
was common talk among the shipyard workers of the time. Not
experimental, not scientific. But golly they did know what they were
talking about.
peace
misha
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VIBRIO PARAHAEMOLYTICUS, FROM OYSTERS - USA (TEXAS) (08)
********************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
[see also:
Vibrio parahaemolyticus, from oysters - USA(Texas)(05) 980709230913
Vibrio parahaemolyticus, from oysters - USA(Texas)(06) 980724222422
Vibrio parahaemolyticus, from oysters - USA(Texas)(07) 980725172305]
Date: Sun, 6 Sep 1998 12:20:48 EDT
Source: Houston Chronicle, September 6, 1998
Via: Margaret Price
The _Vibrio parahaemolyticus_ which caused the recent outbreak
associated with oysters has been identified as "a virulent strain
called 03:K6" This strain was the only one found in individuals who
became ill from eating raw oysters from Galveston Bay. This strain has
not previously been identified in U.S. waters but is common in South
East Asia. A connection with ballast water discharged from ships is
considered a strong possibility according to Dr. George Hofkin of the
US Food and Drug Administration, who is involved in the investigation
of this outbreak.
Comparative situations mentioned were:
- - the detection of the bacterium which causes cholera in oysters
from Alabama's Mobile Bay a few years ago, traced to ballast water
(taken on to stabilize ships during ocean passages) which was dumped
from ships which had been to Peru where a major outbreak had occurred,
- - Zebra mussels carried to the Great Lakes from foreign ports via
ballast water dumped in US waters.
Footnote: The Houston ship channel, which is 40 ft deep, passes
through Galveston Bay, which ranges in depth from a few feet to around
15 feet. A number of rivers empty into Galveston Bay, so that rain
anywhere in the watershed flows to Galveston Bay and then on to the
Gulf of Mexico. Lack of rain prior to this outbreak had created
conditions in which there was very little movement of water in the
bay.
- --
Margaret F. Price, Ph.D.
St. Luke's Hospital
Houston, TX
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Michele Gale-Sinex, communications manager
Center for Integrated Ag Systems
UW-Madison College of Ag and Life Sciences
Voice: (608) 262-8018 FAX: (608) 265-3020
http://www.wisc.edu/cias/
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Take a deep breath. Yeah, I know it doesn't make
you feel better, but it oxygenates your blood and
allows you to swear in longer strings. --Mister 3D
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