DATE: Tuesday, September 16, 1997           TAG: 9709160290

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY CATHERINE KOZAK, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: KILL DEVIL HILLS                  LENGTH:   83 lines

EXPERT: PFIESTERIA IS LITTLE THREAT IN DARE WAVE ACTION ALONG OUTER BANKS LIKELY WOULD DISSIPATE TOXIN

Pfiesteria, the flesh-eating microrganism that has plagued inland estuaries in northeastern North Carolina and other states, is unlikely to become a problem in the active waters of the Outer Banks, marine botanist JoAnn Burkholder said Monday.

``I think you folks have one thing going for you - the wave action and the flushing,'' Burkholder told a group of government and business representatives at the Ramada Inn. ``It can't make enough toxin to have an effect. That's not to say you will never have a problem, but I think that will discourage its growth.''

Burkholder, the scientist who helped identify the microrganism in a 1991 fish kill, said the tiny ``animal'' is usually harmless. A combination of nutrient-rich, quiet water where fish congregate can turn the benign organism into an opportunistic killer.

But Burkholder said the organism has not been detected in the waters of the barrier islands. ``One of the best remaining areas in the state is the Outer Banks in terms of water quality,'' she said.

The North Carolina State University researcher was invited to Dare County by the Outer Banks Hotel-Motel Association and state Sen. Marc Basnight, D-Dare, to help educate the community and alleviate fears about pfiesteria - a problem Burkholder depicts as serious but exaggerated.

The organism and its close allies have so far been found in areas stretching from Delaware to the mid-Gulf Coast. Three types have been confirmed by scientists, Burkholder said.

``I think pfiesteria, in a nutshell, is a very, very clear case that we need more environmental education for our citizens,'' she said at anearlier luncheon. ``People just don't understand it. I don't know how many times I've said, `This is a cause for concern - like any other toxin - but it is not a cause for alarm.'

``Pfiesteria is one little issue. There are so many other water quality issues.''

Burkholder said the biggest frustration facing scientists is that the pfiesteria toxin has not yet been pinned down - which has stymied diagnosis and the understanding of its nature. But researchers are very close to isolating its characteristics, she said.

Besides the graphic and well-publicized open sores on fish, the toxin's calling card is the stunned, distressed behavior and peeling skin of the fish. Virulent pfiesteria can kill a fish in minutes.

As far as its risk to human health, Burkholder said scientists have determined that people that breathe in toxic vapors or consume pfiesteria-laden water can be affected. Effects can include nausea, memory loss, asthma-like symptoms, blurred vision and nervous-system disorders. Burkholder said she is still being affected by immune system suspression, one of the long-term symptoms of infection.

Although scientists do not believe the organism can hurt humans who eat infected fish, she said no one is willing to guarantee that. Pfiesteria is no longer toxic in waterways about 24 hours after fish stop dying.

Due to some roll of the biological dice, pfiesteria seems to much prefer fish flesh because of something they emit, Burkholder said. ``Whatever it is that fish are unfortunate to have - we don't,'' she said. And because of that propensity, Burkholder said fish are the best barometer in judging if the normal organism ``that's just trying to make a living'' has become toxic.

``If you want to know if pfiesteria is present and active, let the fish tell you,'' she said. ``Otherwise, you don't have to worry.''

What Outer Banks residents and officials should do, however, is take the initiative, Burkholder advised. Because nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen, found in fertilizers, sewage and animal waste, are directly related to pfiesteria toxin growth in 75 percent of fish kills, Burkholder said, it would be wise to prevent excess nutrients from reaching the waterways.

Burkholder said she is hopeful that new state laws and more environmentally sensitive state department heads will help the effort to keep North Carolina estuaries and coastal areas clean and pfiesteria-free.

``Pfiesteria thrives in nutrients and will do better in degraded water,'' she said. ``If you can cut down the nutrient overload, it would probably help a lot.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photos]

DREW C. WILSON/The Virginian-Pilot

JoAnn Burkholder, a North Carolina State University researcher, at

right above, discusses Outer Banks concerns over pfiesteria

outbreaks in waters of nearby states with state Sen. Marc Basnight,

D-Dare. She was the guest of Basnight and the Outer Banks

Hotel-Motel Association for a presentation she gave Monday, at

right, at the Ramada Inn in Kill Devil Hills.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu