ID#: 17337
Caption:
This photograph was taken during an investigation that took place in Clovis, New Mexico, in Curry County, dealing with a number of cases involving human and porcine methylmercury poisoning. Here, a number of penned hogs, were being observed for signs of possible mercury contamination. Hogs, which may, or may not have been these in particular, were fed grains treated with methylmercury dicyanamide (a fungicide), and were later butchered, and their meat fed to a hog owners’ family members. Those fed the meat, began to exhibit symptoms indicative of mercury poisoning, which included “ataxia, decreased vision, and depression of consciousness, which progressed to coma over a period of 3 weeks”. Urine specimens from family members, the pork, and the grain seed, all showed results indicative of abnormally high levels of mercury, confirming the diagnosis of organic mercury poisoning.
High Resolution: Click here for hi-resolution image (18.35 MB)
Content Provider(s): CDC/ Dr. William Likosky
Creation Date: 1970
Photo Credit:
Links:
Categories:
CDC Organization
Skip Navigation Links.

MeSH
Skip Navigation Links.
Copyright Restrictions: Permission is not required for public domain images, however, these images are provided by CDC and are available for personal, professional, and educational use with appropriate attribution. Redistribution must credit CDC and, where known, the individual photographer, and identify the CDC website as the free source. For additional terms see Use of Agency Materials | Other | CDC