This book describes the present state of knowledge regarding the impact of cyanobacteria on health through the use of water. It considers aspects of risk management and details the information needed for protecting drinking water sources and recreational water bodies from the health hazards caused by cyanobacteria and their toxins. It also outlines the state of knowledge regarding the principal considerations in the design of programmes and studies for monitoring water resources and supplies and describes the approaches and procedures used.
The development of this publication was guided by the recommendations of several expert meetings concerning drinking water (Geneva, December 1995; Bad Elster, June
1996) and recreational water (Bad Elster, June 1996; St Helier, May 1997). An expert meeting in Bad Elster, April 1997, critically reviewed the literature concerning the toxicity of cyanotoxins and developed the scope and content of this book. A draft manuscript was reviewed at an editorial meeting in November 1997, and a further draft was
reviewed by the working group responsible for updating the Guidelines for Drinkingwater Quality in March 1998.

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Toxic cyanobacteria in water: a guide to their public health consequences, monitoring and management.

Although algal blooms, including those considered toxic or harmful, can be natural phenomena, the nature of the global problem of harmful algal blooms (HABs) has expanded both in extent and its public perception over the last several decades. Of concern, especially for resource managers, is the potential relationship between HABs and the accelerated eutrophication of coastal waters from human activities. We address current insights into the relationships between HABs and eutrophication, focusing on sources of nutrients, known effects of nutrient loading and reduction, new understanding of pathways of nutrient acquisition among HAB species, and relationships between nutrients and toxic algae. Through specific, regional, and global examples of these various relationships, we offer both an assessment of the state of understanding, and the uncertainties that require future research efforts. The sources of nutrients poten- tially stimulating algal blooms include sewage, atmospheric deposition, groundwater flow, as well as agricultural and aquaculture runoff and discharge. On a global basis, strong correlations have been demonstrated between total phos- phorus inputs and phytoplankton production in freshwaters, and between total nitrogen input and phytoplankton pro- duction in estuarine and marine waters. There are also numerous examples in geographic regions ranging from the largest and second largest U.S. mainland estuaries (Chesapeake Bay and the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine System), to the Inland Sea of Japan, the Black Sea, and Chinese coastal waters, where increases in nutrient loading have been linked with the development of large biomass blooms, leading to anoxia and even toxic or harmful impacts on fisheries re- sources, ecosystems, and human health or recreation. Many of these regions have witnessed reductions in phytoplankton biomass (as chlorophyll a) or HAB incidence when nutrient controls were put in place. Shifts in species composition have often been attributed to changes in nutrient supply ratios, primarily N:P or N:Si. Recently this concept has been extended to include organic forms of nutrients, and an elevation in the ratio of dissolved organic carbon to dissolved organic nitrogen (DOC:DON) has been observed during several recent blooms. The physiological strategies by which different groups of species acquire their nutrients have become better understood, and alternate modes of nutrition such as heterotrophy and mixotrophy are now recognized as common among HAB species. Despite our increased un- derstanding of the pathways by which nutrients are delivered to ecosystems and the pathways by which they are assimilated differentially by different groups of species, the relationships between nutrient delivery and the development of blooms and their potential toxicity or harmfulness remain poorly understood. Many factors such as algal species presence/ abundance, degree of flushing or water exchange, weather conditions, and presence and abundance of grazers contribute to the success of a given species at a given point in time. Similar nutrient loads do not have the same impact in different environments or in the same environment at different points in time. Eutrophication is one of several mechanisms by which harmful algae appear to be increasing in extent and duration in many locations. Although important, it is not the only explanation for blooms or toxic outbreaks. Nutrient enrichment has been strongly linked to stimulation of some harmful species, but for others it has not been an apparent contributing factor. The overall effect of nutrient over- enrichment on harmful algal species is clearly species specific.

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Harmful Algal Blooms and Eutrophication: Nutrient Sources, Composition, and Consequences

https://febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1016/0014-5793%2890%2980245-E

Cyanobacterial microcystin-LR is a potent and specific inhibitor of protein phosphatases 1 and 2A from both mammals and higher plants.

Cyanobacteria secondary metabolites--the cyanotoxins.

(2002). The Effects of Harmful Algal Blooms on Aquatic Organisms. Reviews in Fisheries Science: Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 113-390.

The Effects of Harmful Algal Blooms on Aquatic Organisms

The production of potent toxins by bloom-, scum- and mat-forming cyanobacteria, in fresh-, brackish and marine waters, appears to be a global phenomenon. Cyanobacterial toxins can also be produced by cyanobacteria from terrestrial sources. The range and number of known cyanobacterial toxins are increasing apace as associated poisoning incidents are investigated, and increasingly powerful analytical methods are applied to complement toxicity-based studies on both natural samples and laboratory isolates of cyanobacteria. Water quality management to reduce toxic cyanobacterial mass developments, and schemes to mitigate the potential effects of cyanobacterial toxins, require an understanding of the occurrence and properties of the toxins and of the exposure routes via which the toxins present risks to health. Here, we review advances in the recognition of cyanobacterial toxins and their toxicity, and of the exposure routes with reference to human health, namely via skin contact, inhalation, haemodialysis and ...

Cyanobacterial toxins, exposure routes and human health

Cyanobacterial Toxins in Water

The mass growths of cyanobacteria which develop in fresh, brackish and marine waters commonly contain potent toxins. At least 60 cyanobacterial toxins are now recognized. These include neurotoxic and hepatotoxic alkaloids, hepatotoxic peptides and lipopolysaccharide endotoxins. There exists a world-

Cyanobacterial toxins and human health

Cyanobacterial toxins are produced by terrestrial- fresh-, brackish- and sea-water cyanobacteria of cosmopolitan occurrence. These toxins present acute and chronic hazards to human and animal health and are responsible for isolated, sporadic animal fatalities (mammals, fish, birds) each year. Human health problems are associated with the ingestion of, and contact with cyanobacterial blooms and their toxins. Modes of action of cyanobacterial neurotoxins, hepatotoxins and skin irritants are considered. Recent indications of the accumulation of cyanobacterial toxins in fish, their effect on crop plants and their association with the deaths of human dialysis patients are discussed. These findings and events indicate an incomplete understanding of the exposure routes of these natural toxins and the need for greater awareness of their occurrence and properties among users of waterbodies which are prone to cyanobacterial bloom development.

Cyanobacterial toxins: occurrence, modes of action, health effects and exposure routes.

Production of novel polyclonal antibodies against the cyanobacterial toxin microcystin-LR and their application for the detection and quantification of microcystins and nodularin

S. G. Bell

Papers

Cyanobacterial toxins, exposure routes and human health

Cyanobacterial Toxins in Water

Cyanobacterial toxins and human health

Cyanobacterial toxins: occurrence, modes of action, health effects and exposure routes.

Production of novel polyclonal antibodies against the cyanobacterial toxin microcystin-LR and their application for the detection and quantification of microcystins and nodularin