Blooms of blue-green algae
by Pieter Gustav Thiel
Introduction
01 Cancer
02 Ozone
03 Urban air
04 Air pollutants
05 Blue-green algae
06 Water mutagens
07 Contamination
08 Chernobyl
09 Radon
10 Medical geology
11 Renal hazards
12 Organohalogens
13 Estrogens
14 Food hazards
15 Mycotoxins
16 Poisoning
17 Genetics
18 Risk
(Excerpt from Chapter 5)
Cyanobacterial bloom, consisting mainly of Anabaena solitaria, which occurred during November 1993 on the Theewaterskloof dam which is a major source of drinking water for the city of Cape Town, South Africa. The typical pattern of cyanobacterial cells which have risen to the surface and was driven by the wind to the side of the lake can be seen clearly. |
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Blooming algae
Sporadic, poisonous blooms of blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) in water supplies have caused the death of numerous animals in many countries in the past. The potential threat of such toxic blooms of blue-green algae to human health is presently receiving attention world-wide.
Technological development is normally blamed for factors in the environment that can cause harm to human and animal health. It is, however, often forgotten that "nature" can be extremely cruel. While it is certainly justified to blame humans for the industrial pollution of our atmosphere and water resources one should never forget that numerous cases of animal and human intoxications occur regularly as a result of exposure to so-called "natural toxins" which are produced by organisms normally present on food commodities and in water supplies. Examples of such "natural toxins" are the many mycotoxins which are produced by fungi on a variety of agricultural products and the aquatic toxins occurring in both sea and fresh water. Lately, there has been a tremendous increase in interest in the potential threat to human health from the presence of the toxins produced by blue-green algae in fresh water.
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Pieter Gustav Thiel is a retired biochemist. His re search career at the South African Medical Re search Council and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research was dedicated to the study of the significance of naturally occurring toxins for human and animal health. His scientific contributions involved studies on the mode of action and exposure assessment of mycotoxins, especially the Fusarium toxins, as well as studies on the toxins produced by cyanobacteria (blue-green algae).
