Minamata disease

Minamata disease
The crippled hand of a Minamata disease victim (W. Eugene Smith)
Classification and external resources
Specialty	Toxicology, neurology
ICD-10	T56.1
ICD-9-CM	985.0
MedlinePlus	001651
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Minamata disease (Japanese: 水俣病, Hepburn: Minamata-byō^?), sometimes referred to as Chisso-Minamata disease (チッソ水俣病, Chisso-Minamata-byō^?), is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning. Symptoms include ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, loss of peripheral vision, and damage to hearing and speech. In extreme cases, insanity, paralysis, coma, and death follow within weeks of the onset of symptoms. A congenital form of the disease can also affect fetuses in the womb.

Minamata disease was first discovered in Minamata city in Kumamoto prefecture, Japan, in 1956. It was caused by the release of methylmercury in the industrial wastewater from the Chisso Corporation's chemical factory, which continued from 1932 to 1968. This highly toxic chemical bioaccumulated in shellfish and fish in Minamata Bay and the Shiranui Sea, which, when eaten by the local populace, resulted in mercury poisoning. While cat, dog, pig, and human deaths continued for 36 years, the government and company did little to prevent the pollution. The animal effects were severe enough in cats that they came to be named as having "dancing cat fever".

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