Talk:Muktuk

Living Dictionary

Apparently the living dictionary URL is not referring to the intended source. Is this important project alive anywhere else on another server?

If not I suggest to have the links removed. This is valid for quite a number of similar pages

https://www.livingdictionary.com — Preceding unsigned comment added by Metacercarie (talk • contribs) 11:43, 11 April 2020 (UTC)

health concerns

Consumption of muktuk has been associated with outbreaks of botulism. This should be mentioned in "health concerns". Below are two are two citations, one peer reviewed and the other from Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Clinical Toxicology Type E botulism B Zane Horowitz 1 Affiliations PMID: 21171846

DOI: 10.3109/15563650.2010.526943

There are seven known serotypes of botulism, designated A through G; almost all human cases of botulism are caused by types A, B, and E. Botulism type E is the predominant serotype causing disease associated with native Arctic foods. In the circumpolar regions of the world, the coastal soils are rich in botulism type E, and consumption of fish and marine animals in these areas are the sources of clusters of botulism. Unlike spores of type A and B, botulism type E can withstand freezing down to 3.5°C. Alaskan native fermentation of fish heads, fish eggs, and beaver tail allow proper anaerobic conditions for botulinum toxin to be elaborated from Clostridium botulinum. The consumption of whale meat, "muktuk" has also been associated with outbreaks of botulism in Alaska and the Canadian Arctic. Elsewhere in the Arctic regions, type E botulism has been associated with Norwegian "rakfisk" prepared by a process similar to fermented Alaskan foods. Outbreaks in Egypt with the salted gray mullet "faseikh", in Israel and New York linked to salted uneviscerated whitefish "kapchunka", in Iran from eating "ashbal" an uncooked salmon, and in Japan with "izushi" a traditional fermented fish preserved in rice have occurred. Importation of vacuum-packed whitefish from Alaska and Canada has also been associated with sporadic cases of botulism type E in Europe. In March 2010, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention released the heptavalent antitoxin (H-BAT) for use in the USA, under an Investigational New Drug program, as the preferred treatment for food-borne botulism, including type E, which had not been covered by the bivalent antitoxin, the prior approved antitoxin product in the USA. 47.138.92.41 (talk) 11:03, 7 June 2023 (UTC)

MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY WEEKLY REPORT January 17, 2003 / 52(02);24-26 Abstract Outbreak of Botulism Type E Associated with Eating a Beached Whale --- Western Alaska, July 2002 Botulism is a neuroparalytic illness caused by toxins produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, an obligate anaerobe found commonly in the environment. Intoxication with toxin type E is associated exclusively with eating animal foods of marine (salt or fresh water) origin. Persons who eat raw or fermented marine fish and mammals are at high risk for botulism from type E toxin. On July 17, 2002, the Alaska Division of Public Health investigated a cluster of suspected botulism cases among residents of a fishing village in Alaska. This report summarizes the findings of the outbreak investigation, which linked disease to eating raw muktuk (skin and a pink blubber layer) from a beached whale (Figure). To avoid delays in treatment, health-care providers evaluating patients suspected of having botulism should base treatment decisions on clinical findings. Public health authorities should be notified immediately about any suspected botulism case.

During July 13--15, residents of a western Alaska village on the Bering Sea shore shared a meal consisting of muktuk harvested from a beached adult beluga whale found near their village. The villagers estimated that the whale had been dead for at least several weeks. They cut the whale fluke (tail) into pieces and stored them in zipper-sealed plastic bags in a refrigerator until they were eaten 1 or 2 days later. On July 17, after a physician from western Alaska reported three suspected cases of botulism among patients who had eaten the muktuk, the Alaska Section of Epidemiology began an investigation.

A case of foodborne botulism was defined as illness in a person who had eaten the muktuk and subsequently had symmetric descending flaccid paralysis of motor and autonomic nerves. Persons who ate muktuk were interviewed and examined, and their hospital records were reviewed. Serum, stool, and gastric contents from patients and leftover blubber were tested for botulinum toxin.

Of 14 persons identified who ate the muktuk, eight (57%) had an illness that met the case definition. Five of the eight patients were female; the median age was 73 years (range: 13--83 years). Symptom onset after ingestion of muktuk occurred within 36 hours in all patients (Table). Five patients were hospitalized, four received antitoxin, and two required mechanical ventilation. Three stool, three gastric fluid, and seven serum samples from the eight patients and seven samples of muktuk were tested for botulinum toxin at CDC's National Botulism Surveillance and Reference Laboratory. The diagnostic laboratory received all laboratory specimens on July 26, and results were reported on August 1. Type E toxin was detected in stool from one patient. All seven samples of muktuk were positive for type E botulinum toxin.

Reported by: J Middaugh, MD, T Lynn, DVM, B Funk, MD, B Jilly, PhD, Div of Public Health, Alaska Dept of Health and Social Svcs. Div of Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases; S Maslanka, PhD, Div of Applied Public Health Training, Epidemiology Program Office; J McLaughlin, MD, EIS Officer, CDC.

References can be created for these publications. David notMD (talk) 09:32, 11 June 2023 (UTC)