Intra-uterine Methylmercury Poisoning in Iraq

Abstract

A disastrous epidemic of methylmercury poisoning occurred in rural Iraq early in 1972, due to the ingestion of home-made bread prepared from wheat treated with a methylmercury fungicide. We report the clinical and laboratory evaluation of 15 infant-mother pairs exposed to methylmercury during pregnancy, including mercury determinations in blood samples of mothers and infants, and in milk samples from mothers, during the first seven months following the epidemic. In all cases except one, the infants' blood mercury levels were higher than their mothers' during the first four months after birth. Our results indicate that methylmercury passes readily from mother to fetus and that neonatal blood mercury levels are maintained through ingestion of mercury in mothers' milk. Clinical manifestations of methylmercury poisoning were evident in six of 15 mothers and in at least six of 15 infants. In five severely affected infants there was gross impairment of motor and mental development. However, in only one infant-mother pair was the infant affected and the mother free of signs and symptoms–a marked contrast to the reports of Japanese mother-infant pairs from Minamata. Careful follow-up studies of these and other Iraqi infants will determined where signs and symptoms of methylmercury poisoning will appear as these children continue to develop. Studies of these and additional infant-mother pairs may allow determination of the prenatal period of greatest fetal sensitivity to methylmercury poisoning.

Human reproductive hazards. Evaluation and chemical etiology

“…Infants exposed in utero via the consumption of contaminated fish by their moth-ers demonstrated varying degrees of neurological symptoms resembling cerebral palsy (20,21). Similar effects of mercury on development also have been documented in the United States (22) and Iraq (23) following accidental inclusion of mercurous fungicides into grains.…”

Fluorescent and colorimetric sensors for environmental mercury detection

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Among the ions concerned, mercury is one of the most important analytes because of its toxicity to the ecosystem and damage to health, 9 as demonstrated by Minamata disease 10 and mercury poisoning in Iraq. 11 It has been reported in the literature that mercury exposure can have a number of severe adverse effects on health, such as brain damage, kidney failure, and various cognitive and motion disorders. 12 Mercury methylation enhances its lipid solubility, and methylated mercury is extremely toxic and damaging to the central nervous system.…”

Contribution des neurosciences cognitives pour l'étude de l'impact des contaminants environnementaux sur le développement des fonctions cérébrales

“…Le profil typique des symptômes associés à cette forte exposition au MeHg fut appelé maladie de Minamata. Des déficits similaires ont également été rapportés en Irak chez des enfants fortement exposés au MeHg durant la grossesse suite à la consommation par la mère de produits alimentaires fabriqués à partir de grains contaminés [8]. Des effets neurologiques semblables ont été observés chez des enfants intoxiqués au Pb [9], bien qu'une étude récente au Sénégal dans une usine de récupération de batteries de Pb [10] ait aussi mis en évidence des troubles neuropsychiatriques, notamment des troubles du sommeil, des problèmes d'anorexie ainsi que des comportements d'irritabilité, d'anxiété et d'agressivité.…”