Sayak Banerjee, Amity University Kolkata
Cyanobacteria are present in the environment in an extensively far-reaching state. They pose trouble in the aquatic system when they accumulate in a dense outgrowth in the form of blooms. They also might generate potential secondary metabolites known as cyanotoxins that might harm other plants, animals as well as humans.
The cyanobacterial blooms show a constant change in magnitude, frequency, and extent in various areas due to anthropogenic and climatic alterations. These are a threat towards the sustainability of both the aquatic system and human health. Humans can be subjected to cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) via drinking water. Cyanotoxins and cyanoHABs are creating a large-scale health risk because of its source being water bodies worldwide.
Health effects caused by cyanobacteria and its evaluation:
Gastrointestinal (GI) illness is the most commonly accounted acute health effect after being exposed to cyanotoxin through drinking water. Dermal, respiratory, auditory, musculoskeletal, neurological and other symptoms like fever and anorexia fall under various other non-specific acute illnesses. These too mainly arise from subjection to water exposure to cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins.
Wu, Jianyong, et al. have mentioned in a recent paper published in the journal Environmental Health that the determination of cyanoHAB exposure is essential for evaluating the risk cyanoHAB has brought towards human health. They regarded the use of satellite remote sensing over the standard assessment procedures. This is because it is a potentially attractive, less time consuming, and a low cost method which focuses on a large geographical scale. Despite not being unable to identify toxins, they might aid in the quantification of cyanobacteria abundance near the surface of water.
The findings from Satellite Remote Sensing:
Lately, there has been enhancement in satellite remote sensing for cyanoHABs identification in numerous inland lakes. Moreover, this improvement has also enabled the study of water bodies used for drinking or recreational purposes. Satellite images obtained from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) can measure spectral signatures of phytoplankton. Recently, it has been employed for the estimation of cyanobacteria abundance in water. The researchers worked on the cyanobacterial concentration at the Wachusett Reservoir located in Massachusetts that was used as a municipal drinking water.
The research in discussion was particularly on GI, dermal, and respiratory illnesses during 2008-2011. Among the three types of diseases, the counts of respiratory illnesses had larger variability than that of GI illness and dermal illness. They found no significant associations between cyanobacteria concentrations and daily hospital visits for GI illness as well as dermal illness. Conversely, visits for respiratory illness exhibited a direct association with cyanobacteria concentration. Therefore, it implied that the drinking water source impacted by cyanobacterial blooms is related to respiratory symptoms after consumption. The scientists mentioned that some of the previous studies in this field depicted severe respiratory illnesses like pneumonia that lead to hospital visits. Some reports stated illnesses including cough, congestion, wheeze, and tight chests on the day of exposure to cyanobacteria-impacted waters.
Limitations and Perspectives:
Satellite remote sensing has certain limitations for evaluation of human exposure to cyanobacterial blooms. Firstly, the availability of the satellite data quality is restricted to influence of snow, ice, cloud cover and other factors. Pertaining to this, the researchers had to exclude the cyanobacterial data for December, January, and February. Secondly, surface cyanobacteria concentrations might not precisely signify water quality at the actual drinking water intake depth. They said that this finding needs to be confirmed in future studies regarding the health effects associated with subjection to cyanobacteria-impacted drinking water sources.
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References:
- Wu, J., Hilborn, E.D., Schaeffer, B.A. et al. Acute health effects associated with satellite-determined cyanobacterial blooms in a drinking water source in Massachusetts. Environ Health 20, 83 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-021-00755-6
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Author info:
Sayak Banerjee is a 3rd-year Biotechnology Student with a great interest in Immunology and Molecular genetics. He is a creative scientific writer in BIOXONE BIOSCIENCES with an inclination towards gaining knowledge regarding various sections of Biotechnology and emphasizing himself in various wet lab skills.
Previous publications:
- https://bioxone.in/news/worldnews/anaerobic-gut-fungi-make-way-for-novel-antibiotic-production/
- https://bioxone.in/news/worldnews/neutrophil-derived-nanovesicles-a-novel-drug-delivery-system/
- https://bioxone.in/news/worldnews/pig-to-human-heart-transplantation-a-solution-to-the-rarity-of-donor-organs/
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