The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #36312

Lorraine C Backer, PhD, MPH¹, Lora E Fleming, MD PhD, MPH, MSc², Alan Rowan, MPH³, Yung-Sung Cheng, PhD⁴, Janet Benson, PhD⁴, Richard H. Pierce, PhD⁵, Julia Zaias, DVM⁶, Judy A Bean, PhD⁷, Gregory D. Bossart, VMD, PhD⁸, Raul Quimbo, PhD⁹, David Johnson, MD⁹, and Daniel G. Baden, PhD¹⁰. (1) National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd. NE, MS E-23, Atlanta, GA 30333, (2) NIEHS Marine and Freshwater Biomedical Sciences Center, University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149, 305-361-4738, lfb9@cdc.gov, (3) Environmental Epidemiology, Florida Dept of Health, 4052 Bald Cypress Way, Bin A08, Tallahassee, FL 32399, (4) Dosimetry Program, Loveless Respiratory Research Institute, P.O. Box 5890, Albuquerque, NM 87185, (5) Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34236, (6) Division of Comparative Pathology, University of Miami School of Medicine, 1600 NW 10th Ave., Room 7101A, Miami, FL 33136, (7) Biostatics Division, Childrens Hospital of Cincinnati, 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45229, (8) Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, 5600 US 1 North, Fort Pierce, FL 34946, (9) Florida Department of Health, 4052 Bald Cypress Way, Tallahassee, FL 32399, (10) Center for Marine Science Research, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 1 Marvin K. Ross Lane, Wilmington, NC 28409

Florida red tide is an annual event caused by blooms of the dinoflagellate, Karenia brevis. The organism produces potent neurotoxins (brevetoxins) that result in massive fish kills. During two red tide events, we measured brevetoxins levels in air and seawater, and K. brevis cells in seawater. We conducted personal interviews and pulmonary function tests on people before and after they visited Florida beaches. One hundred twenty-nine people participated during red tide events in Sarasota and Jacksonville. Using air brevetoxin concentrations, we categorized exposures as no/low, moderate, and high. We compared the pre-beach visit results with the post-beach visit results. Lower respiratory symptoms (e.g., wheezing) were reported by 8% with no/low exposure, 11% with moderate exposure, and 28% with high exposure. An inflammatory response was detected in 33% of people with moderate or high exposure. During moderate and high exposure periods, we detected 36 ng/m3 or 80 ng/m3, respectively, of brevetoxin in the air. If an average adult breathes in 25 liters/minute of air for light exercise, then people visiting the beaches during these periods were inhaling up to 54-120 ng of brevetoxin/hr, or an inhaled dose of 0.77-1.71 ng/kg/hr (assuming 70 kg average weight). In animal studies, brevetoxin inhalation exposure at lower doses (fg) induced significant respiratory resistance. However, no clinically significant changes in pulmonary function tests were observed in our small study. We are conducting additional epidemiologic investigations of the human health impact of inhaled brevetoxins.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Understand that there are not only food-borne effects from red tides, but respiratory effects as well.
• Identify some of the common symptoms from exposure to aerosolized brevetoxins.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.