TY - JOUR
T1 - Mercury exposure and malaria prevalence among gold miners in Pará, Brazil
AU - Silbergeld, Ellen K.
AU - Nash, Denis
AU - Trevant, Circey
AU - Strickland, G. Thomas
AU - De Souza, Jose Maria
AU - Da Silva, Rui S.U.
PY - 2002
Y1 - 2002
N2 - Economic development, including resource extraction, can cause toxic exposures that interact with endemic infectious diseases. Mercury is an immunotoxic metal used in the amalgamation of gold, resulting in both occupational exposures and environmental pollution. A cross-sectional medical survey was conducted in 1997 on 135 garimpeiros in Para, Brazil, because of their risks of both mercury exposure and malaria transmission. Mean levels of blood and urine mercury were well above non-exposed background levels. Twenty-six subjects had malaria parasitemia: Health symptoms consistent with mercury exposure were reported, but neither symptoms nor signs correlated with mercury levels in blood or urine. We did not find a dose response relationship between mercury exposure and likelihood of prevalent malaria infection, but there was a possible reduction in acquisition of immunity that may be associated with conditions in gold mining, including mercury exposure.
AB - Economic development, including resource extraction, can cause toxic exposures that interact with endemic infectious diseases. Mercury is an immunotoxic metal used in the amalgamation of gold, resulting in both occupational exposures and environmental pollution. A cross-sectional medical survey was conducted in 1997 on 135 garimpeiros in Para, Brazil, because of their risks of both mercury exposure and malaria transmission. Mean levels of blood and urine mercury were well above non-exposed background levels. Twenty-six subjects had malaria parasitemia: Health symptoms consistent with mercury exposure were reported, but neither symptoms nor signs correlated with mercury levels in blood or urine. We did not find a dose response relationship between mercury exposure and likelihood of prevalent malaria infection, but there was a possible reduction in acquisition of immunity that may be associated with conditions in gold mining, including mercury exposure.
KW - Garimpagem
KW - Malaria
KW - Mercury
KW - Toxicity
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U2 - 10.1590/S0037-86822002000500001
DO - 10.1590/S0037-86822002000500001
M3 - Article
C2 - 12621659
AN - SCOPUS:1842865529
SN - 0037-8682
VL - 35
SP - 421
EP - 429
JO - Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
JF - Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
IS - 5
ER -