Category: Environmental Toxin Testing
Low levels of arsenic exposure may reduce your ability to mount an immune response to the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu, according to researchers from the Marine Biological Laboratory and Dartmouth Medical School.
"One thing that did strike us, when we heard about the recent H1N1 outbreak, is Mexico has large areas of very high arsenic in their well water, including the areas where the flu first cropped up," said Joshua Hamilton, the MBL's chief academic and scientific officer.
Contaminated well water is a common source of high arsenic in the blood. While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency puts the safe level of arsenic in drinking water at 10 parts per billion, Hamilton said concentrations of 100 and higher are not uncommon in well water in certain regions. People in areas with high arsenic in the drinking water usually have higher levels of arsenic present in testing.
The researchers found mice that had ingested water with concentrations of 100 parts per billion for five weeks got much sicker from swine flu as the arsenic disrupted the immune system and endocrine system response.
Related Articles from Private MD:
News Categories:
Advanced Lipid Treatment I Allergy Testing Anemia and RBC disorders Autoimmune Diseases Bariatric Lab Testing Blood and Blood Diseases Breast Cancer Detection and Tumor Markers Celiac Disease Testing Chlamydia Coagulation and blood clotting disorders Colon DNA, Paternity and Genetic testing Diabetes Drug Screening Environmental Toxin Testing Female Specific Tests Gastrointestinal Diseases General Health General Wellness HIV HIV monitoring/Treatment/Testing/Post Diagnos Heart Health and Cholesterol Herpes Hormones and Metabolism Infectious Diseases Infertility Testing-Male Infertitlity Hormone Testing Kidney Diseases Leukemia and WBC disorders Liver Liver Diseases Lyme Disease Male Specific Tests Menopause/Peri-Menopausal Diagnosis Musculoskeletal Diseases Nicotine Screening Organ Specific Testing Ovarian Prostate Prostate Sexually Transmitted Diseases Thyroid Diseases Transgender Hormone Testing-Male to Female Transgender Hormone Testing-female to male Vitamin D Deficiency-Diagnosis and TreatmentVisit the Health News Archive: Click Here
Back to top
Results
