Examinan relación entre exposición al arsénico y susceptibilidad a la influenza

En la última entrega de La perspectiva del Investigador, la nueva serie de podcast por Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP), el Dr. Josh Hamilton analiza las posibles consecuencias de su reciente estudio realizado con ratones que relaciona la exposición al arsénico y la respuesta inmune a la influenza A/H1N1.

Hamilton y sus colegas encontraron que los ratones expuestos a 100 partes por billón (ppb) de arsénico en el agua potable tenían una respuesta inmune innata a la infección significativamente comprometida empleando un ratón adaptado al subtipo H1N1 de la influenza. Cuando esta primera línea de defensa inmunitaria fue suprimida por el arsénico, los ratones infectados con H1N1 se volvieron gravemente enfermos. En comparación, los síntomas de la gripe en ratones que no fueron expuestos al arsénico son relativamente leves, aunque los animales fueron infectados con la misma cepa H1N1.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/160661.php

In the new podcast Hamilton explains, “With so many people potentially exposed to arsenic in drinking water, the implications for increased mortality from influenza viral infections and bacterial infections could be profound.” Contamination of drinking water by natural geological sources of arsenic is the primary route of exposure to this element. Hundreds of millions of people worldwide, including up to 25 million Americans, drink well water containing levels of arsenic above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s limit of 10 ppb.

“I would urge anyone who’s on a private well supply to have their water tested,” Hamilton said. “People may not realize that only public water supplies are regulated by the state and federal government, and that private, unregulated wells are untested [on a routine basis] unless the homeowner chooses to do that.”

The Researcher’s Perspective provides a behind-the-scenes look at what researchers are studying and the human health implications of their research. New podcasts are posted at www.ehponline.org and on iTunes. Updates on new podcasts are available through EHP’s RSS and Twitter feeds. Other podcasts currently available include “Do PCBs Contribute to Childhood Leukemia?” with Dr. Mary H. Ward, “Public Health for the 21st Century” with Dr. Kenneth Olden and “Long-Term Effects of Bisphenol A Exposure” with Retha Newbold.

EHP is published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. EHP is an Open Access journal.

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