Selenium as a Health Hazard

Mercury as a health hazard.

Pink disease has virtually disappeared since teething powders were withdrawn. We describe a case in a boy who was exposed to metallic mercury vapour. We discuss the potential health hazard of spilled elemental mercury in the house and the difficulties of removing it from the environment.

Acyclovir as a public health hazard.

Vibrio vulnificus as a health hazard for shrimp consumers.

Over the last 30 years, a number of Vibrio species found in the aquatic environment have been indicated as cause of disease in human beings. Vibrio vulnificus is an emergent pathogen, an invasive and lethal marine bacterium related to wound infection and held accountable for gastroenteritis and primary septicemia. It occurs quite frequently in marine organisms, mainly in mollusks. This study ai...

Erythrocyte selenium concentration as a marker of selenium status.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Plasma selenium concentration and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity are commonly used as markers of selenium nutritional status. However, plasma selenium concentrations fall independently of selenium status during the acute phase response and GPx is analytically problematic. The assay for erythrocyte selenium is robust and concentrations are unaffected by the systemic infl...

Hazard assessment of selenium to endangered razorback suckers (Xyrauchen texanus).

A hazard assessment was conducted based on information derived from two reproduction studies conducted with endangered razorback suckers (Xyrauchen texanus) at three sites near Grand Junction, CO, USA. Selenium contamination of the upper and lower Colorado River basin has been documented in water, sediment, and biota in studies by US Department of the Interior agencies and academia. Concern has...