Cholera Bacteria in Ships' Ballast Water
Magazine article; FDA Consumer, Vol. 26, March 1992
Magazine Article Excerpt
Cholera Bacteria in Ships' Ballast Water. When foreign ships carry cargo to American ports, they may also harbor disease-causing cholera bacteria, U.S. health officials fear. Last fall, FDA found cholera bacteria in the ballast and holding tank water of two freighter ships from Latin America, where the disease has been epidemic since January 1991. Ballast water stabilizes a ship at sea, while the holding tank stores sewage and waste water. FDA began testing additional ships in November to see if they might have brought the bacteria to U.S. waters. Cholera was found in four seafood samples taken from Mobile Bay, Ala., last summer. The strain of bacteria was the same as that causing the epidemic in Latin American countries. Cholera is a potentially deadly intestinal disease that is easily treated and fully preventable with good sanitation. Largely because of poverty conditions, the disease has spread throughout 12 Latin American countries, causing about 3,000 deaths. At the time FDA discovered cholera in Mobile Bay seafood samples, the beds were closed to fishing. No other samples have contained cholera bacteria since then, so the beds have been reopened. No cases of cholera have been reported in Alabama, and none have been associated with American seafood. Nevertheless, consumers should not eat raw oysters or other raw seafood. Thorough cooking kills cholera bacteria. Alabama state health officials have asked that all foreign ships entering the Port of Mobile exchange their ballast water twice while on high seas before entering the harbor. Ships are not allowed to discharge holding tank water into U.S. navigable waters, but vessel operators may either discharge on the open ocean or to a shoreside reception facility. The U.S. Coast Guard and the national Centers for Disease Control have worked with FDA in testing the ships. The Coast Guard can deny entry of a ship to U.S. ports if it carries cholera bacteria. -1- |
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