Does this sound as if it could be Dolphin morgellons?

[tcmgpt13]

The middle of this thread is totally off topic. Still the beginning ties into yet another alarming article in the same newspaper which was quoted in my first post above. Since the first article is no longer available through the link (this paper seems to have recently begun charging for older articles, so I cannot fix these now defunct links) it is not possible to compare the two articles. To prevent this from happening again I will copy the entire story I found today in the same newspaper online. Still some of the earlier links not from this paper do still work and give some comparison to today's article. BTW the saxitoxin mentioned in the article is connected to dinoflagellates, so if living near bays and estuaries suspect this may well be a possible partial component of morgellons symptoms for those with morgellons and looking into Richard Shoemaker's protocol might be useful http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxitoxin http://www.chronicneurotoxins.com/index.cfm That said here is the latest article:

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbc...712200330/1006


December 20, 2007

More mammals washing ashore

81 strandings alarm scientists

BY JIM WAYMER
FLORIDA TODAY
ADVERTISEMENT

Call it in
To report a stranded dolphin, whale, manatee or other marine mammal, call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation ComMission at 888-404-3922
What was found
# Of the marine mammals stranded within Brevard, St. Johns, Flagler and Volusia counties, biologists found: 73 bottlenose dolphins
# 2 humpback whales
# 1 Atlantic spotted dolphin
# 1 dwarf sperm whale
# 2 pigmy sperm whales
# 1 gervais-beaked whale
# 1 bearded seal

At least 81 marine mammals -- mostly dolphins, but also a half-dozen whales and even an Arctic seal -- became stranded this year in Central Florida. All the washing ashore has scientists wondering whether something natural or unnatural is sending so many astray.

Recent red tide may account for a few of the stranded mammals, but researchers suspect there may be something more at play.

"Many things could be adding to this year's count," said Wendy Noke Durden of Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute in Orlando. "What we're seeing could be part of a trend that will best be understood over the span of five to 10 more years of data."

Brevard's 48 strandings made up almost 6 in every 10 dolphins, whales and other marine mammals that washed in dead, sick or injured within the four-county area that Hubbs researchers cover: Brevard, St. Johns, Flagler and Volusia counties.

Those numbers mean this year is shaping up to be the worst dolphin and whale stranding year in the region since 2003, when 78 marine mammals became stranded. In 2005 there were only 49 strandings in the four counties. Last year, there were 71.

"This area is highest of any in the state," said Megan Stolen, a
research biologist at Hubbs.

Scientists got especially curious when a bearded seal -- an Arctic native -- popped up in the Indian River Lagoon, as happened near Stuart in May. The seal died the next day at SeaWorld in Orlando.

"I don't think we ever had a bearded seal," said Teresa Mazza, a research assistant with Hubbs.

Although thought to be the first bearded seal ever recorded in Florida, it wasn't the first seal to make an appearance. Florida biologists have been flabbergasted in recent years by random seals turning up in the subtropics. In September of last year, two Arctic hooded seals washed up a day apart in South Florida.

But most of this year's stranded marine mammals -- 73 -- were bottlenose dolphins. Most died.

More deaths could be on the way. Recent studies have shown bottlenose dolphins can die several weeks after exposure to red tide. The tide's lingering toxins build up in their systems as they eat menhaden and other fish.

"The extent of the red tide problem in Florida's dolphin and whale population isn't yet clear," Duane De Freese, Hubb's vice president of research said in Wednesday's statement.

Hubbs biologists have recorded nine dolphin deaths on the Central Atlantic Coast since Dec. 12, De Freese said. That's high, he said, adding that laboratory tests to prove cause of death are expected in several days.

Brevard had a record 63 bottlenose dolphins stranded in 2001. Some suspected those dolphins were victims of a relatively new algae toxin called saxitoxin.

While most strandings this year have been dolphins, a whale or two has washed up in the mix. In January, two humpback whales were among the casualties, including one in Cocoa Beach and another in Daytona Beach.

Contact Waymer at 242-3663 or jwaymer@floridatoday.com.

[Kritters]

TC,

Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to contact Mr. Waymer regarding the possible link .

And thanks for that link to www.chronicneurotoxing.com I had taken the test before (positive, of course) and then forgot all about it. (foooooooooooooooooggggggggggg)

Kritts

[tcmgpt13]

Here is a recent article I found online from the Florida Today Newspaper which I will copy here before it disappears into the pay only article file. They are finding excessively high levels of mercury, heart problems, fungal problems, oral and genital herpes, viral infections that lead to cancer (something I definitely feel may be going on with morgellons). I just love the fact that the director involved in the study sees that what is happening to the dolphins may also be effecting humans.:

Dolphin lagoon deaths a mystery for feds | floridatoday.com | FLORIDA TODAY

Dolphin lagoon Deaths a mystery for feds by Jim Waymer August 2, 2008

Federal officials have launched an investigation into what has killed at least 35 bottlenose dolphins in the Indian River Lagoon since early May.

All but two of the dolphins died in Brevard County, most in the northern lagoon. The other two died in southern Volusia County.

It is the second time in seven years that so many lagoon dolphins have died so fast that it triggered a federal investigation.

"That's cause for concern for everybody," said Steve McCulloch, director of dolphin research at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University in Fort Pierce. "It could be something that's affecting their environment. And if it's affecting the dolphin, it's affecting all of us, or has potential to."

The spate of dolphin deaths in the lagoon prompted the National Marine Fisheries Service to declare a "marine mammal unusual mortality event."

Such events are defined under the Marine Mammal Protection Act as a stranding that is "unexpected, involves a significant die-off of any marine mammal population, and demands immediate response."

The die-off must meet specific criteria for such a designation, which frees federal money for testing and other response activities.

It also means stricter protocols for how dolphins are forensically examined, McCulloch said.

The 35 deaths are about 21/2 times the usual rate of about one dolphin stranding per week that local biologists typically see this time of year, said Wendy Noke Durden, a biologist at Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute in Orlando who helps gather dead dolphin carcasses.

Several dead dolphins have been found in the more stagnant northern lagoon.

"Most of them don't have much in their stomachs. A lot of them are skinny. We have a few that have respiratory problems," Noke Durden said.

Biologists first suspected the red tide that claimed at least nine bottlenose dolphins in East Central Florida late last year, most of them in Brevard, as the cause. But they now doubt that theory, Noke Durden said.

No red tide has been found in the lagoon for several months.

An ongoing comparative study by Harbor Branch has found lagoon dolphins captured over the past several years in much poorer health than dolphins captured in Charleston, S.C. Lagoon bottlenose have average mercury levels in their skin more than four times that of the Charleston dolphins and about 20 times what's considered safe for humans.

Their research has found lagoon dolphins with a mix of emerging ailments, including heart problems, fungal growths, oral and genital herpes, and viral infections that can lead to cancer.

The researchers also found flame retardants called polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, at mean levels more than three times the highest levels found in humans.

They found "super bugs" resistant to penicillin and several other common antibiotics growing in the guts of one in every five lagoon dolphins. The bacteria may be coming from human medications in sewage or farm animals, the researchers suspect, and could trigger disease in dolphins with compromised immune systems.

The Harbor Branch researchers say their findings may hint at health problems throughout the bottlenose population, about 80,000 in the western North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico alone.

A bizarre bottlenose die-off has happened before in the lagoon. The last time Marine Fisheries declared an unusual marine mammal mortality event in the lagoon was during the summer of 2001, when at least 35 northern lagoon bottlenose dolphins died within two months, within about 25 miles of each other.

After a yearlong federal investigation, biologists couldn't say for sure why the dolphins died. They hypothesized that a new red tide-like toxic algae never before seen in Florida bloomed that summer, releasing toxins that built up to fatal levels or caused immune suppression. The same poison, saxitoxin, sickened 20 people who ate pufferfish caught near Titusville that summer. The fish remains under a state ban for harvest and consumption.

The key to finding the cause for this die-off, biologists say, is the general public. The faster they report sick and dead dolphins, the better chance biologists have of salvaging the animal before it's too decomposed to analyze.

"The essential component for us is a fast response time," McCulloch said.

Contact Waymer at 242-3663 or jwaymer@floridatoday.com.

[commonsense]

It does seem like marine life and humans and animal diseases are
combining.

Our world is evolving with new germs.

makes sense to have it cross over

thanksssssssssss for the information and I will check more into this topic.

[commonsense]

Hey, I remember from attending my class reunion that and old school
buddy is workin in CA on Marine world and maybe I can ask him some
questionsl. He doesn't know I am ill.

[Kritters]

good thinking CS....
oh wait... common sense. makes sense that you'd have a good thought.
Who knows.... he could be struggling with lesions and you can help.
Kritts

[Robin]

hey tcm ,
speaking of dinoflagellates,they found a new flatworm the waminoa not a whole lot is known about the waminoa flatworms but it is thought that they in turn are host to tiny flagellates--single cell life forms that produce nutrients thru photosynthesis,some of which they share with their host. aren't dinoflagates found in people with morgellons? i could swear i heard that before.
love robin

[tcmgpt13]

Most recent article about the large number of dolphin deaths:

Dolphin deaths double; algae suspected | floridatoday.com | FLORIDA TODAY

Dolphin deaths double; algae suspected
Experts stumped on what killed 50 in lagoon since May

BY JIM WAYMER • FLORIDA TODAY • October 20, 2008


Fifty bottlenose dolphins died in the Indian River Lagoon in just over five months, about twice the usual rate.

Nobody knows why, only that red tide is unlikely. Another toxic algae is a lead suspect, but not thought the sole culprit. Several other algae, a disease or pollution could be conspiring together.

But the good news is the die-off that began May 3 seems over, for now. Tropical Storm Fay may have been the cure -- flushing out the culprit with record rain.

"I think we're most likely at the close of the event," said Blair Mase of the National Marine Fisheries Service, adding that there's been no conclusive evidence of the cause. "I'm not sure if we had any smoking guns thus far."

Most of the dolphins died in June and July in northern Brevard County with a
few in Volusia County, prompting the federal agency to declare an "unusual marine mortality event."

But the exact cause may never be known, Mase said, because most of the animals recovered were too decomposed for detailed sampling of their tissues.

The dolphins appeared thin, with empty stomachs. And young dolphins got the worst of it.

"We did see a lot of newborns during this mortality event," Mase said.

Biologists said the cause was not likely the toxic algae, Karlodinium micrum, that killed thousands of fish in Port St. John last month.

Some dolphins harbored trace amounts of a poison called saxitoxin in their tissues, but not enough to kill them, scientists said.

An algae called Pyrodinium bahamense, found in the lagoon late this summer, produces the poison, which can magnify in fish and other marine life.

"I think our biggest interest is in saxitoxin," said LeAnne Flewelling, assistant research scientist at the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg. "It would be something that they're eating, maybe puffer fish, maybe other fish that can accumulate the toxin through their diet."

An estimated 400 to 600 bottlenose dolphins spend most of their lives in the lagoon.
Saxitoxin worries

Saxitoxin is the same poison found in the last major lagoon bottlenose dolphin die-off in 2001, when 29 of the mammals perished in June and July in north Brevard. About a dozen more died throughout the region that year.

Most of this year's dolphin deaths also were in June and July.

Potentially fatal to humans, saxitoxin also is the substance that made 28 people sick in 2002 after they ate puffer fish, mostly caught in Titusville.

As a result, state wildlife officials made it illegal to possess puffers, punishable by a $500 fine and 60 days in jail.

Saxitoxin has only been found to be dangerous in certain species of puffer fish, especially the southern puffer. But biologists worry about its presence in hard-shell clams, the digestive organs of blue crabs and more obscure species such as dwarf razor clams.

The algae that produces saxitoxin bloomed in the northern lagoon in August.

But biologists say the algae may prefer saltier water than what Fay left behind, after diluting the lagoon with almost two feet of rain. The dolphin deaths slowed significantly after the storm.

"After Tropical Storm Fay, we really didn't have much at all," said Wendy Noke-Durden, a research biologist with Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute. "That's interesting, it's almost like a dilution factor."
Deeper concerns

Biologists said they considered the "unusual mortality event" over after the 48th dolphin was found in September, and the reported carcasses slowed.

The 50th dead dolphin since May, a baby being pushed by its mother, turned up Oct. 11 near
Titusville.

While this die-off seems to have run its course, the event hints at much deeper health concerns for lagoon dolphins, said Greg Bossart, a veterinary pathologist at the Georgia Aquarium.

"Really it's just the tip of the iceberg, I think," said Bossart, who has studied the dolphins. "These animals are having some serious issues. And it's really in our best interest to figure out what's going on."

He's found lagoon bottlenose with high incidence of tumors, heart problems, cancer, stomach ulcers, genital herpes and other ailments not previously thought common in dolphins. As many as half the 90 dolphins studied in the lagoon suffer from some form of chronic infectious disease.

Tissues revealed proof of pollution, too.

"We found extremely high levels of mercury," said Bossart, who suspects multiple causes for the die-offs.

"It's really dangerous to try to oversimplify these mortality events," he said.

Contact Waymer at 242-3663 or jwaymer@floridatoday.com.

Hi there again Robin, Sorry I did not notice your post in August, but I think you are correct, that some doctors have treated some patients for dinoflagellates. I believe that Bubba mentioned that when she discussed the treatment she had received from her doctor(s). I think though that she also said it was only a partial help and that additional medications were needed to resolve most of her symptoms.

[tcmgpt13]

This is part of a post from lymebusters, posted by a person who feels she may have contracted her morgellons parasites in the same water where the diseased dolphins discussed in the newspaper articles have died in larger numbers than normal. It is interesting to me that she describes large parasites too, especially since the ones I caught from eating fish were very large at the start of my illness. Luckily (if you can call it that) what I have now is very much smaller though still visible to the naked eye.

LymeBusters - The bryozoan parasite theory

“The theory however that describes down to the smallest of detail all my parasites and all my symptoms to a tee is Cliff's Bryozoan Parasite theory.....every last little thing.......What especially got me is the fluke like parasites with the biting bird beak shape with the antenna and ball on the end like a snail...I HAVE HAD THOSE FROM THE BEGINNING IN VERY SMALL TO UP TO 4 INCHES LONG...AND STILL DO. I.have the ones that layer....the ones that cause those little white shapes under your skin and I could go on and on and on....these are the parasites killing me and the ones that caused my Morgellons and I am so sure I am about to write Cliff a letter..."

"Prior to leaving on our cruise we traveled to Key Largo so I could swim with the dolphins in a open ...NATURAL LAGOON.....SEA WATER FLOWED IN AND OUT OF THIS LAGOON... .....at a place called Dolphins Plus....it was great...I loved it and she sat on the dock as she thought the price way too high....so she would not have been exposed....probably would not have caught it even if she did swim as she is the one of the most healthy...energetic..vibrant persons I have ever known ...."

When reading more about BRYOZOAN Parasites they spoke alot about INDIAN RIVER LAGOON AREA WHERE THESE PARASITES ARE IN GREAT ABUNDANCE AND THERE ARE OVER 30 SPECIES THERE.....

MAP QUEST CONFIRMED IT WAS NOT EVEN 4 MILES FROM WHERE I SWAM WITH THE DOLPHINS....AND PROBABLY ALL THE BRYOZOAN PARASITES....

1 MONTH AFTER i GOT HOME I GOT MY FIRST LESION THAT LOOKS LIKE A RING WORM THAT WON'T GO AWAY.....6 years later I still have that lesion and that whole legs is infected....

THEN I GOT ONE BEHIND MY EAR...”

[tcmgpt13]

Scientists baffled by dolphin, whale deaths
B Y JIM WAYMER " FLORIDA TODAY "
February 4 , 2010

In less than two weeks, 11 dolphins and one beaked whales have washed up dead between Sebastia Inlet and Volusia County.

Biologists don't know why. Laboratory tests are pending , but some of the animals were so decomposed that finding a cause of death is unlikely.

So they hope to salvage the next stranded marine mammal a bit sooner.

"People are reporting them to us late," said J.B. Kump , a spokesman with the Hubbs- Sea World Reseaerch Institute in Orlando. They don't appear decomposed to the casual observer.

A Hubbs team arrived near Patrick Air Force Base today to salvage a dolphin that had beached the previous day.

Two of the dead dolphins in the past few weeks washed up in the Indian River Lagoon: one in Melbourne Beach and the other in Palm Bay.

On Jan. 27, a 14 and 1/2-foot female beaked whale beached itself in Melbourne Beach. Results from tissue sample tests are expected next week.

"They all seemed to have lung complications but that's pretty common in whale and dolphin strandings," said Wendy Noke, research scientist with Hubbs - Sea World.