Health News
Does red tide have lasting impacts on health? $6.25 million in funding could fuel new study
It’s clear that red tide can wreak havoc on tourism and the local economy, but how does it affect the long-term health of residents and visitors?
The last bout of red tide in 2018-19 was one of the longest in recorded history, said Michael Crosby, the president and chief executive officer of Mote Marine Laboratory, speaking at a news conference on Monday morning. He said recent efforts were focused on understanding and preventing red tide, but a missing link remained.
He stood alongside several others at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, including U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, who successfully passed a funding measure in the U.S. House last month. It dedicated $6.25 million to research the health impacts of red tide and other algal blooms.
“Congressman Buchanan’s measure would dedicate $6.25 million to red tide research within the National Institutes of Health, but no decision has been made yet as to which organization(s) would actually conduct the studies” said Anthony Cruz, a Buchanan spokesman, in a follow-up email to the Bradenton Herald.
Speaking at Monday’s press conference, Buchanan said he expected the Senate to pass his measure “fairly quickly.”
“As a kid that grew up in Michigan when Lake Erie was polluted, I just remember as a kid you couldn’t swim in it, and if you did swim or try to catch a fish, you couldn’t eat it,” he said. “I don’t want that to happen here.”
Michael Mullan, executive director of the Roskamp Institute, said his organization is recruiting 400 volunteers for a study on red tide and its possible effects on human health.
“It’s a natural thing for us to look at red tide and the neurotoxins that it releases, because we know from animal studies it can cause inflammation,” Mullan said. “We also know it can accumulate in the liver and the brain.”
“Maybe there aren’t any long-term impacts in certain areas,” he continued. “One way or the other, we just need to have that data.”
The study, he said, will span about three years and include various blood and urine samples. His organization will compare samples taken before and after red tide appears, studying the effects over time.
His team had 50 volunteers as of Monday morning, and Mullan believes the study will give other organizations a base understanding of red tide and its health impacts, paving the way for deeper research in the future.
“Is having a robust immune response a good thing, or is it a bad thing? Do you get more symptoms if you have a strong response, or less symptoms? We don’t even know the basic answers to those questions,” he said.
Dr. Kirk Voelker, the director of clinical research at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, said patients often visited the hospital with irritated lungs and burning questions during the last cycle of red tide, though he wasn’t sure of the exact number.
He said red tide usually has a more severe impact on those with existing lung conditions, such as elderly beach-goers, and those with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
However, the lasting impacts are unknown, and it wasn’t always clear if a patient’s symptoms were related to red tide.
“I’m frequently approached with questions about red tide, and we just do not have the information,” he said.
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