Hydrobiology and Aquatic Pollution Laboratory, División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, Carretera Villahermosa-Cárdenas Km. 0.5 S/N, Entronque a Bosques de Saloya, 86150 Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Jan 31;16(3):404. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16030404.
The death of dozens of manatees recently in Tabasco, Mexico, has captured international attention. Speculation about possible causes include water and food contamination by metals. Although federal authorities have ruled out water chemical pollution, the cause of these deaths is still awaiting conclusive laboratory results. Present work seeks to summarize information currently available on non-essential metals and those of great toxicological relevance in Sirenia (dugongs and manatees), highlighting its body distribution, presence in blood, and its relationship with their geographical distribution, gender and age, whenever possible. This paper focuses on the five elements: As, Cr, Hg, Pb and Cd, which are commonly considered as threats for marine mammals and reported in Sirenia. Some of these metals (Cr and Cd) were thought to be related to the recent deaths in Tabasco. All five elements are accumulated by Sirenia at different levels. Metal presence is associated to their diet but does not necessarily imply adverse effects for dugongs and manatees. Toxicological aspects and the human consumption risk in case of any illegal or traditional consumption in some cultures are discussed. Important toxicological research areas that need to be addressed are highlighted.
最近，墨西哥塔巴斯科州数十头海牛死亡，引起了国际社会的关注。对可能原因的推测包括金属对水和食物的污染。尽管联邦当局已排除水的化学污染，但这些海牛死亡的原因仍有待实验室的最终结果。目前的工作旨在总结有关非必需金属和那些对海牛（儒艮和海牛）具有重要毒理学意义的金属的现有信息，重点介绍其在体内的分布、在血液中的存在，以及在可能的情况下，与它们的地理分布、性别和年龄的关系。本文重点介绍了通常被认为对海洋哺乳动物构成威胁的五种元素：砷、铬、汞、铅和镉，这些元素在海牛中都有报道。其中一些金属（铬和镉）被认为与塔巴斯科州最近的死亡事件有关。所有这五种元素在不同程度上都被海牛所积累。金属的存在与其饮食有关，但不一定对儒艮和海牛产生不利影响。讨论了在某些文化中非法或传统消费的情况下的毒理学方面和对人类的消费风险。强调了需要解决的重要毒理学研究领域。
