What is minamata disease?

MINAMATA disease is a neurological syndrome caused by acute mercury poisoning. Also known as the Chisso-Minamata Claly, it was first discovered in the Japanese town of Minamata in 1956. Almost 1,800 people died of the disease and had a major impact on studies of pollution and toxicology. Muscle fatigue; loss of feeling on the limbs; And problems with vision, hearing and speech. More serious symptoms were also reported - mental instability, muscle paralysis, convulsions, coma and in many cases led to death. The Minormatas disease could also be congenital and infect children in the womb.

MINAMATA disease was not infectious. It was treated with various medicines and therapies. Severe cases have seen significant damage to nerve cells that have often become fatal. It has been found that children born mothers with disease have physical deformities and mental retardation.

Around 1950, cats in the seaside town of Minamata, Japan, began to behave strange. They seemed to have seizures, lose their minds, and then fit into the sea. Soon more population beganAnimals in the city experience the same symptoms. In 1956, two young sisters left for their family doctor who suffered from seizures similar to symptoms, insensitivity in their hands and legs and hysterical explosions. This was the first official diagnosis of minimate disease, although subsequent research found that more than 50 burghers had the disease at a time when the girls were diagnosed, and 17 of them were dead.

Soon it was found that the chemical plant of the city, Chisso Corporation, threw away methylmercury into the sea. The toxic substance infiltrated the marine life of the area, and the people of Minamata unknowingly consumed tilted fish for decades. Once a T -pole poisoning was identified, Chisso Corporation continued to make Methylmercury into the water around Minamata until 1968. Although this process lasted years, victims and their families eventually received a financial reward from Chisso. The MINMATAS Disease hadThe devastating effects on the region and since 2001 have still lived with this disease with this disease; No new minamat cases have been reported.

MINAMATA played an important role in environmental awareness - namely the effects of pollution - and the toxicology of elements. This disease was the only worst case of industrial pollution in Japanese history. This brought questions about public health, social responsibility, citizens' rights and the impact of heavy metals poisoning.