Red tide or the rain -- take your pick

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7/8/2002

Red tide or the rain -- take your pick

If you are having sinus-like symptoms, headaches, ticklish throat,

coughing, runny nose, not feeling at the top of your game -- welcome to

Florida and its infamous red tide.

And, the rains.

" We do have red tide in the area, " Mote Marine scientist Dr.

Kirkpatrick said, " and it has been causing respiratory problems with people

at the beach. "

Kirkpatrick said red tide is an algae bloom consisting of a neurotoxin

that kills certain types of sea life and affects the human nervous system.

When particles of the bloom mixed with air from the sea are inhaled, the

toxin irritates the sinuses, nose and throat, he said.

" Usually, the symptoms from red tide toxin exposure are respiratory

(related) that come from the tiny (water) droplets that are blown in the air

from breaking waves, " Kirkpatrick said. " Headaches we hear about

anecdotally, but we don't find that as a consistent symptom. "

Diane Shipley of the Sarasota County Health Department, said the

department did not issue an official statement, but suggested the recent

extra rain could have something to do with the symptoms some people are

experiencing.

" The rain brings with it mold and mildew, " she said, " and a lot of

people are sensitive to that. "

Kirkpatrick said there is a red tide bloom of moderate levels near the

Mote Marine laboratory.

He also said that the red tide is pretty much gone south of Venice.

However, Kirkpatrick cautioned that does not mean people in Venice

aren't experiencing some symptoms.

" The stuff moves around with the water, " he said. " We've had quite a

few calls from Casey Key from people having respiratory problems. "

He said all of the states bordering the Gulf of Mexico have experienced

red tide-type algae blooms, and so has North Carolina. Currently, there is

no way to predict when red tide will begin or when it will end.

Kirkpatrick said the red tide toxin could be fatal if enough of it were

injected into a human, and it can make some people sick if they eat certain

kinds of shellfish that ingest and retain the toxin.

He said the months of highest probability for red tide blooms are

September, October and November.

" But it is possible to have blooms any time of the year, " Kirkpatrick

said.

You can e-mail Tommy McIntyre at: tmcintyre@...

By TOMMY McINTYRE