The Minamata disease epidemic in Japan (1956) exemplified a specific environmental health principle concerning biomagnification. The causative agent and the principle best illustrated are:

• A Inorganic mercury; acute chemical spill toxicity
• B Cadmium; Itai-itai disease mechanism with renal tubular damage
• C Methylmercury; bioaccumulation through the aquatic food chain (biomagnification) ✓
• D Lead; industrial atmospheric dispersion causing community poisoning

Explanation

Minamata disease was caused by methylmercury discharged from Chisso Corporation's chemical plant into Minamata Bay. Methylmercury (organic mercury) undergoes biomagnification — concentration increasing progressively up the food chain from water→plankton→small fish→large fish→humans, resulting in neurological damage (cerebellar ataxia, constricted visual fields, deafness, sensory disturbances). It is the classic demonstration of environmental biomagnification in food chains. Cadmium causes Itai-itai disease (painful osteomalacia with renal tubular damage) — a separate Japanese environmental disaster from the Jinzu River.

Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 27th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.