Human Health Impact of Environmental Exposures to Cyanotoxins: Evidence from the Diversity and Innovation in Screening and Prevention of Exposure over the Long-term (DISPEL) Cohort Study
Start Date
24-5-2022 5:45 PM
End Date
24-5-2022 7:00 PM
Abstract
Toxic cyanobacterial blooms are increasingly more frequent and widespread in Florida, raising the critical need to understand the short- and long-term human health impacts of ingestion, dermal, and inhalation exposure to the toxins. Since 2019, the DISPEL to HABs prospective cohort study conducts periodic surveillance of Florida workers, residents, and visitors’ health status and exposure to cyanotoxins produced from blue-green algae. In the present study, we examine cohort participant baseline data on self-collected water samples, oral and stool microbiomes, pulmonary function tests (PFT), and socio-demographic characteristics. Among the 37 participants, comprised of 28.9% residents, 68.4% workers, and 2.6% visitors to Florida, microbiome samples were collected before and after exposure to HABs. Water samples, collected by participants from their home tap water and surface samples from nearby outdoor waterbodies, were analyzed by HPLC-MS for microcystin, of which four water samples had measurable microcystin with one exceeding levels of the World Health Organization drinking water guidelines. Preliminary 16S analysis identified Actinobacteria followed by Firmicutes as the dominant phylum in participant oral samples, while Firmicutes followed by Bacteroidetes dominated in the stool samples.
Human Health Impact of Environmental Exposures to Cyanotoxins: Evidence from the Diversity and Innovation in Screening and Prevention of Exposure over the Long-term (DISPEL) Cohort Study
Toxic cyanobacterial blooms are increasingly more frequent and widespread in Florida, raising the critical need to understand the short- and long-term human health impacts of ingestion, dermal, and inhalation exposure to the toxins. Since 2019, the DISPEL to HABs prospective cohort study conducts periodic surveillance of Florida workers, residents, and visitors’ health status and exposure to cyanotoxins produced from blue-green algae. In the present study, we examine cohort participant baseline data on self-collected water samples, oral and stool microbiomes, pulmonary function tests (PFT), and socio-demographic characteristics. Among the 37 participants, comprised of 28.9% residents, 68.4% workers, and 2.6% visitors to Florida, microbiome samples were collected before and after exposure to HABs. Water samples, collected by participants from their home tap water and surface samples from nearby outdoor waterbodies, were analyzed by HPLC-MS for microcystin, of which four water samples had measurable microcystin with one exceeding levels of the World Health Organization drinking water guidelines. Preliminary 16S analysis identified Actinobacteria followed by Firmicutes as the dominant phylum in participant oral samples, while Firmicutes followed by Bacteroidetes dominated in the stool samples.