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- Nature is NOT benevolent. That peaceful and idyllic landscape that inspires you to write poetry is a bloody battlefield once you look at it at a microscopic scale, with creatures battling each other for territory and eating each other.
- We humans live our entire lives under relentless siege by pathogens, so our immune system has powerful and ruthless armies of cells dedicated to fight them.
- A state of war is pervasive and intrinsic to nature and life's survival. Pro-disarmament and anti-gun folks dwell in an imaginary world. We need to be prepared as individuals and as a country.
- Here is the story of a nature-loving family attacked by the toxic mist emitted by an aquarium coral.
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Zoanthid coral can contain a substance called palytoxin, which when ingested or breathed in can cause symptoms from vomiting and seizures to respiratory failure resulting in death. Just cleaning the coral or scrubbing the tank can help release this poison into the air as a mist.
WHAT ARE CORALS?
- Corals are animals because they do not make their own food, as plants do.
- Corals have tiny, tentacle-like arms that they use to capture their food from the water and sweep into their inscrutable mouths.
- Most corals are made up of hundreds to thousands of tiny coral creatures called polyps.
- Each soft-bodied polyp—most no thicker than a nickel—secretes a hard outer skeleton of limestone (calcium carbonate) that attaches either to rock or the dead skeletons of other polyps.
- Most corals contain algae which are plant-like organisms. Residing within the coral's tissues, the microscopic algae are well protected and make use of the coral's metabolic waste products for photosynthesis, the process by which plants make their own food.
- The corals benefit, in turn, as the algae produce oxygen, remove wastes, and supply the organic products of photosynthesis that corals need to grow, thrive, and build up the reef.
WHAT ARE CORALS?
- Corals are animals because they do not make their own food, as plants do.
- Corals have tiny, tentacle-like arms that they use to capture their food from the water and sweep into their inscrutable mouths.
- Most corals are made up of hundreds to thousands of tiny coral creatures called polyps.
- Each soft-bodied polyp—most no thicker than a nickel—secretes a hard outer skeleton of limestone (calcium carbonate) that attaches either to rock or the dead skeletons of other polyps.
- Most corals contain algae which are plant-like organisms. Residing within the coral's tissues, the microscopic algae are well protected and make use of the coral's metabolic waste products for photosynthesis, the process by which plants make their own food.
- The corals benefit, in turn, as the algae produce oxygen, remove wastes, and supply the organic products of photosynthesis that corals need to grow, thrive, and build up the reef.
Toxic coral in home aquarium blamed for making Canadian family sick
Seven members of a Gatineau, Que., family, including a pregnant woman and three small children, fell ill on Sunday while setting up a large aquarium. They blame toxins released by coral for landing them in hospital and driving them from their home, which is now contaminated.
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Corals are sessile animals that "take root" on the ocean floor. It's no wonder that many people think corals are plants!
Corals are sessile, which means that they permanently attach themselves to the ocean floor, essentially "taking root" like most plants do. We certainly cannot recognize them by their faces or other distinct body parts, as we can most other animals.
So what exactly are corals?
Corals actually comprise an ancient and unique partnership, called symbiosis, that benefits both animal and plant life in the ocean.
Corals are animals, though, because they do not make their own food, as plants do. Corals have tiny, tentacle-like arms that they use to capture their food from the water and sweep into their inscrutable mouths.
Most structures that we call "coral" are, in fact, made up of hundreds to thousands of tiny coral creatures called polyps. Each soft-bodied polyp—most no thicker than a nickel—secretes a hard outer skeleton of limestone (calcium carbonate) that attaches either to rock or the dead skeletons of other polyps.
In the case of stony or hard corals, these polyp conglomerates grow, die, and endlessly repeat the cycle over time, slowly laying the limestone foundation for coral reefs and giving shape to the familiar corals that reside there. Because of this cycle of growth, death, and regeneration among individual polyps, many coral colonies can live for a very long time.
Most corals contain algae called zooxanthellae (pronounced zo-UH-zan-thuh-lay), which are plant-like organisms. Residing within the coral's tissues, the microscopic algae are well protected and make use of the coral's metabolic waste products for photosynthesis, the process by which plants make their own food.
The corals benefit, in turn, as the algae produce oxygen, remove wastes, and supply the organic products of photosynthesis that corals need to grow, thrive, and build up the reef.
More than merely a clever collaboration that has endured between some of the tiniest ocean animals and plants for some 25 million years, this mutual exchange is the reason why coral reefs are the largest structures of biological origin on Earth, and rival old-growth forests in the longevity of their ecological communities.
Zoanthid coral is a popular feature of saltwater aquariums, but can release a dangerous toxin
Seven members of a family are recovering from illness they say was caused by exposure to a toxic coral in their home aquarium. Jason Laframboise, 31, bought the aquarium second-hand from a business where it had been on display and transported it with its contents to his home in Gatineau, Que., on Sunday.
Immediately after transferring some Australian Zoanthid corals, all seven people in the house began to feel sick. "We all started sneezing within minutes. We were having chest pains, problems breathing," Laframboise said. "So after about three to four minutes of symptoms we came out. We called poison control. And later in hospital [we had] fevers, shaking, a bit of vomiting."
Those who fell ill included Laframboise's 16-month-old nephew, his five-year-old son and three-year-old daughter, as well as his wife, Cassandra Findlay, who is six months pregnant.
Upon learning of the family's symptoms, the Quebec Poison Control Centre sent them an email to present to a triage nurse at the Montfort Hospital where they sought treatment.
It warned that Zoanthid coral could contain a substance called palytoxin, which when ingested could cause symptoms from vomiting and seizures to respiratory failure resulting in death.
Laframboise believes the family was poisoned by breathing the toxin through the air, which the poison control centre suggested would likely lead to milder symptoms.
Laframboise stayed overnight in hospital and was given IV fluids and antibiotics. His wife returned to the hospital on Tuesday for further examination.
Family afraid to return home
While the family members worry about their health, including that of their unborn child, they're living without their belongings at the home of a family member.
They're afraid to return home for fear the building is still contaminated with the toxin.
Initially, they were not offered help from authorities to clean up the property or even inspect the house — where they normally operate a home daycare.
"I've called over 40 companies and nobody can do it in this region," said Laframboise.
The family was also informed that a hazardous materials team would not be called to respond, although police have cordoned off the house with orange tape.
Late Tuesday evening, Laframboise met with Gatineau's fire chief and police chief, who have agreed to help him with the cleanup so the family can return home.
Laframboise said he has been told multiple provincial government departments are going to be involved.
Toxic coral a common feature of aquariums
The man who sold Laframboise the aquarium, Alex Bordeu, told CBC News it was purchased at Marinescape, a saltwater aquarium retailer on Carling Avenue in Ottawa.
He said that as the person in charge of maintaining the aquarium during its four years on display in his own office, he'd handled its contents safely many times.
Live coral is a very popular feature of saltwater aquariums, according to Marinescape co-owner Keith Hamilton.
"There are very few of them that wouldn't have Zoanthids in them, because of their variety and colour," he said.
Hamilton said that he frequently handles the coral himself without gloves or goggles.
However, a Toronto coral grower advised caution, calling Zoanthid coral "one of the most toxic things in the aquarium industry" because scrubbing or hot water can cause the coral to release toxins that become airborne.
"I've heard of this happening once in a blue moon. Someone cleans or scrubs a tank and then ends up inhaling some of it," said Marcello Portillo, who runs Fragbox Corals.
Portillo said he's never heard of anyone becoming seriously ill, and he's never had a problem himself despite working with the corals for many hours each day.
A spokesperson for Health Canada told CBC it had no reported incidents of poisoning by Zoanthid corals and that the government does not restrict their sale or handling.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which requires import permits for some aquatic animals susceptible to certain diseases, told CBC News it does not require permits for any coral species.
As for Laframboise, he said he was unaware of the risk despite his experience as an aquarium hobbyist, and he's anxious to spare others the hardship he's enduring.
"If people buy them, they should buy them with care, or be properly informed."
RELATED
A Popular Coral for Home Aquariums Can Release Deadly Toxin
The coral produces a toxic mist that can cause serious health
When a man stumbled into an emergency room in an Anchorage, Alaska hospital on August 12, 2014 suffering from a high fever, pain and with a metallic taste in his mouth he had an unusual guess for the culprit. He suspected that he had been poisoned by a coral in his bedroom aquarium.
According to a recent report published in the Centers for Disease Control’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly, a brightly-colored aquarium coral has been responsible for poisoning at least 10 people in Anchorage, Alaska over the last several years.
Zoanthid corals are some of the most common corals found in aquariums, but despite their beauty, some kinds can produce a chemical called “palytoxin,” a substance that can cause fever and a whole range of breathing, muscle and neurologic problems.
But while the toxin is most easily transmitted through direct contact with the corals, it appears that zoanthids can also extrude palytoxin through what Scientific American’s Jennifer Frazer calls “a creeping death mist.”
The patient recalled that the day before he wound up in hospital with palytoxin poisoning, one of his housemates had brought home and transferred a zoanthid coral into a home aquarium in his bedroom.
While no one affected had touched the coral, the CDC reports that the patient and one of his roommates “noted a visible mist and sensed humidity in the mobile home on the morning after coral introduction, leading them to suspect a possible problem with the aquarium.” As Frazer writes:
On further investigation the CDC researchers discovered several employees of the pet store where the man’s roommate had bought the coral had suffered palytoxin poisoning over the last two years. One employee reported experiencing symptoms nine times in the last year alone, Rachael Rettner writes for Live Science.
“Many aquarium store employees and marine aquarium hobbyists are not aware of palytoxin as a potentially serious hazard associated with handling some zoanthid corals,” the CDC researchers report. “General recommendations on coral handling and decontamination practices would be helpful for hobbyists, commercial coral growers, and the public health and clinical provider communities.”
Coral are certainly still pretty to look at, and a little extra care could save aquarium hobbyists a trip to the hospital.
According to a recent report published in the Centers for Disease Control’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly, a brightly-colored aquarium coral has been responsible for poisoning at least 10 people in Anchorage, Alaska over the last several years.
Zoanthid corals are some of the most common corals found in aquariums, but despite their beauty, some kinds can produce a chemical called “palytoxin,” a substance that can cause fever and a whole range of breathing, muscle and neurologic problems.
But while the toxin is most easily transmitted through direct contact with the corals, it appears that zoanthids can also extrude palytoxin through what Scientific American’s Jennifer Frazer calls “a creeping death mist.”
The patient recalled that the day before he wound up in hospital with palytoxin poisoning, one of his housemates had brought home and transferred a zoanthid coral into a home aquarium in his bedroom.
While no one affected had touched the coral, the CDC reports that the patient and one of his roommates “noted a visible mist and sensed humidity in the mobile home on the morning after coral introduction, leading them to suspect a possible problem with the aquarium.” As Frazer writes:
The next morning, all three [housemates] awoke with a nasty suite of neurologic, breathing, and muscle problems. The man who’d slept in the room with the aquarium was worst off. His fever had reached 103°F and his white blood cell count was elevated. He spent two days in the hospital before recovering.The CDC researchers believed that the roommates were poisoned by a few small coral fragments that snapped off and fell to the ground while it was being transferred into its tank.
On further investigation the CDC researchers discovered several employees of the pet store where the man’s roommate had bought the coral had suffered palytoxin poisoning over the last two years. One employee reported experiencing symptoms nine times in the last year alone, Rachael Rettner writes for Live Science.
“Many aquarium store employees and marine aquarium hobbyists are not aware of palytoxin as a potentially serious hazard associated with handling some zoanthid corals,” the CDC researchers report. “General recommendations on coral handling and decontamination practices would be helpful for hobbyists, commercial coral growers, and the public health and clinical provider communities.”
Coral are certainly still pretty to look at, and a little extra care could save aquarium hobbyists a trip to the hospital.
Are corals animals or plants?
Coral, a sessile animal, relies on its relationship with plant-like algae to build the largest structures of biological origin on Earth.
Corals are sessile animals that "take root" on the ocean floor. It's no wonder that many people think corals are plants!
Corals are sessile, which means that they permanently attach themselves to the ocean floor, essentially "taking root" like most plants do. We certainly cannot recognize them by their faces or other distinct body parts, as we can most other animals.
So what exactly are corals?
Corals actually comprise an ancient and unique partnership, called symbiosis, that benefits both animal and plant life in the ocean.
Corals are animals, though, because they do not make their own food, as plants do. Corals have tiny, tentacle-like arms that they use to capture their food from the water and sweep into their inscrutable mouths.
Most structures that we call "coral" are, in fact, made up of hundreds to thousands of tiny coral creatures called polyps. Each soft-bodied polyp—most no thicker than a nickel—secretes a hard outer skeleton of limestone (calcium carbonate) that attaches either to rock or the dead skeletons of other polyps.
In the case of stony or hard corals, these polyp conglomerates grow, die, and endlessly repeat the cycle over time, slowly laying the limestone foundation for coral reefs and giving shape to the familiar corals that reside there. Because of this cycle of growth, death, and regeneration among individual polyps, many coral colonies can live for a very long time.
Most corals contain algae called zooxanthellae (pronounced zo-UH-zan-thuh-lay), which are plant-like organisms. Residing within the coral's tissues, the microscopic algae are well protected and make use of the coral's metabolic waste products for photosynthesis, the process by which plants make their own food.
The corals benefit, in turn, as the algae produce oxygen, remove wastes, and supply the organic products of photosynthesis that corals need to grow, thrive, and build up the reef.
More than merely a clever collaboration that has endured between some of the tiniest ocean animals and plants for some 25 million years, this mutual exchange is the reason why coral reefs are the largest structures of biological origin on Earth, and rival old-growth forests in the longevity of their ecological communities.
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