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Doctors Medicines MCQs Q&A

Which of the following pollutants in water causes 'Minamata' disease?

Which of the following pollutants in water causes 'Minamata' disease? Correct Answer Methyl Mercury

The correct answer is Methyl Mercury.

  • Minamata disease (Chisso-Minamata disease), is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning.
  • Symptoms include ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, narrowing of the field of vision, and damage to hearing and speech.
  • 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 (point source pollution) 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.
  • A second outbreak of Minamata disease occurred in Niigata Prefecture in 1965.

Important Points

Salmonella
  • It is a type of food poisoning by some bacteria.
  • Illness from these bacteria is officially called salmonellosis. It can cause an upset stomach, diarrhoea, fever, and pain and cramp in your belly.
Lead
  • Exposure to high levels of lead may cause anaemia, weakness, and kidney and brain damage.
    • Anaemia is a low level of healthy red blood cells (RBCs). RBCs carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. When red blood cells are low, the body does not get enough oxygen.
  • Lead poisoning is also called plumbism.
Perchlorate
  • Perchlorate can disrupt the normal function of the thyroid gland in both children and adults.
    • The thyroid plays an important role in metabolism, making and storing hormones that help regulate the heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and the rate at which food is converted into energy.

Related Questions

Consider the following statements with reference to Effects of Water Pollution on Human Health: 1. Water contaminated with cadmium can cause itai-itai disease also called ouch-ouch disease. 2. Pollution of water bodies by mercury causes Minamata (neurological syndrome) disease in humans. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Consider the following pairs: S.No Pollutant Disease 1 Nitrate Blue baby syndrome 2 Cadmium Black foot disease 3 Arsenic Itai-Itai disease 4 Mercury Minamata disease Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
Given below are three quantities named A, B and C. Based on the given information, determine the relation among the three quantities. Quantity A∶  A 30 litre mixture of wine and water has wine and water in the ratio 5∶ 7. How much water must be drawn off so that the ratio of wine and water becomes 25∶ 19? Quantity B∶ A 35 litre mixture of wine and water has wine and water in the ratio 1∶ 3. How much water must be drawn off so that the ratio of wine and water becomes 1.75∶ 3.35? Quantity C∶ A 27 litre mixture of wine and water has wine and water in the ratio 3∶ 2. How much water must be drawn off so that the ratio of wine and water becomes 81∶ 11?
Very small amount of air pollutants are present in stratosphere also; though most of the atmospheric pollutants are present in the troposphere. Which of the following atmospheric pollutants does not cause the ozone layer depletion in atmosphere at tremendous rate?
Bottled water is drinking water (e.g., well water, distilled water, mineral water, or spring water) packaged in PET Bottle or Glass Water Bottles. Bottled water is comprehensively regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a packaged food product. By law, the FDA regulations for bottled water must be at least as stringent as the Environmental Protection Agency standards for tap water. What inference can be drawn from the above passage?
Minamata disease is an infectious disease.
What causes Minamata disease?
Below each question are given two statements (I) and (II). These statements may be either independent causes or may be effects of independent causes or a common cause. One of these statements may be the effect of the other statement. Read both the statements and decide which of the following answer choice correctly depicts the relationship between these two statements. Statement I: A hike in water-borne diseases was noticed. Statement II: Pollutants have started reaching underground water and contaminating it.  
Which of the following pairs is/are correctly matched. Sr No. Conventions Related to 1.  Stockholm Convention Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes 2.  Basel Convention Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) 3.  Minamata Convention Mercury
A three-star medicine is prepared by mixing two type of fluids (A & B) in ratio of 1 : 4. Fluid A is prepared by mixing two type of water, water M and water N in ratio of 4 : 5. Fluid B is prepared by mixing two type of water, water X and water N in ratio of 3 : 7. The final mixture is prepared by 675 units of three-star medicine with water Y. If the concentration of the water N in the final mixture is 60%, then how much water Y had been added to three-star medicine?