%0 Journal Article
%T Prominent Human Health Impacts from Several Marine Microbes: History, Ecology, and Public Health Implications
%A P. K. Bienfang
%A S. V. DeFelice
%A E. A. Laws
%A L. E. Brand
%A R. R. Bidigare
%A S. Christensen
%A H. Trapido-Rosenthal
%A T. K. Hemscheidt
%A D. J. McGillicuddy Jr.
%A D. M. Anderson
%A H. M. Solo-Gabriele
%A A. B. Boehm
%A L. C. Backer
%J International Journal of Microbiology
%D 2011
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2011/152815
%X This paper overviews several examples of important public health impacts by marine microbes and directs readers to the extensive literature germane to these maladies. These examples include three types of dinoflagellates (Gambierdiscus spp., Karenia brevis, and Alexandrium fundyense), BMAA-producing cyanobacteria, and infectious microbes. The dinoflagellates are responsible for ciguatera fish poisoning, neurotoxic shellfish poisoning, and paralytic shellfish poisoning, respectively, that have plagued coastal populations over time. Research interest on the potential for marine cyanobacteria to contribute BMAA into human food supplies has been derived by BMAA's discovery in cycad seeds and subsequent implication as the putative cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/parkinsonism dementia complex among the Chamorro people of Guam. Recent UPLC/MS analyses indicate that recent reports that BMAA is prolifically distributed among marine cyanobacteria at high concentrations may be due to analyte misidentification in the analytical protocols being applied for BMAA. Common infectious microbes (including enterovirus, norovirus, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Shigella, Staphylococcus aureus, Cryptosporidium, and Giardia) cause gastrointestinal and skin-related illness. These microbes can be introduced from external human and animal sources, or they can be indigenous to the marine environment. 1. Introduction The health and welfare of humans residing in the coastal zone and in island communities are inextricably linked to the oceans and its foodwebs. The multitude of relationships between human societies and the oceans has led to many human dimensions of ocean issues and processes. The effects of climate change, pollution, population increases, and the myriad of anthropogenic effects attendant increasing population are all related in various ways to the microbial organisms that are at the base of marine ecosystems. In 2004, the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences initiated collaborative funding of four centers for oceans and human health, and in the same year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration launched its Oceans and Human Health Initiative. One of the important accomplishments of these centers has been the cross-discipline synergistic collaboration of scientists within and between centers. This paper summarizes five areas of this research focusing on the oceans and human health. 2. Gambierdiscus spp. and Ciguatera Fish Poisoning Gambierdiscus spp., a genus of dinoflagellates (division Phyrophyta),
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijmicro/2011/152815/