Susceptibility of the Bhopal-methyl isocyanate (MIC)-gas-tragedy survivors and their offspring to COVID-19: What we know, what we don't and what we should?

There is credible evidence that the 1984-Bhopal-methyl isocyanate (MIC)-gas-exposed long-term survivors and their offspring born post-exposure are susceptible to infectious/communicable and non-communicable diseases. Bhopal's COVID-19 fatality rate suggests that the MIC-gas tragedy survivors are at higher risk, owing to a weakened immune system and co-morbidities. This situation emboldened us to ponder over what we know, what we don't, and what we should know about their susceptibility to COVID-19. This article aims at answering these three questions that emerge in the minds of public health officials concerning prevention strategies against COVID-19 and health promotion in the Bhopal MIC-affected population (BMAP). Our views and opinions presented in this article will draw attention to prevent and reduce the consequences of COVID-19 in BMAP. From the perspective of COVID-19 prophylaxis, the high-risk individuals from BMAP with co-morbidities need to be identified through a door-to-door visit to the severely gas-affected regions and advised to maintain good respiratory hygiene, regular intake of immune-boosting diet, and follow healthy lifestyle practices.

Susceptibility of the Bhopal-methyl isocyanate (MIC)-gas-tragedy survivors and their offspring to COVID-19: What we know, what we dont and what we should? / Suscetibilidade dos sobreviventes da tragédia de Bhopal-isocianato de metila (CIM)-gás e seus filhos ao COVID-19: O que sabemos, o que não sabemos e o que devemos?

Abstract There is credible evidence that the 1984-Bhopal-methyl isocyanate (MIC)-gas-exposed long-term survivors and their offspring born post-exposure are susceptible to infectious/communicable and non-communicable diseases. Bhopal's COVID-19 fatality rate suggests that the MIC-gas tragedy survivors are at higher risk, owing to a weakened immune system and co-morbidities. This situation emboldened us to ponder over what we know, what we don't, and what we should know about their susceptibility to COVID-19. This article aims at answering these three questions that emerge in the minds of public health officials concerning prevention strategies against COVID-19 and health promotion in the Bhopal MIC-affected population (BMAP). Our views and opinions presented in this article will draw attention to prevent and reduce the consequences of COVID-19 in BMAP. From the perspective of COVID-19 prophylaxis, the high-risk individuals from BMAP with co-morbidities need to be identified through a door-to-door visit to the severely gas-affected regions and advised to maintain good respiratory hygiene, regular intake of immune-boosting diet, and follow healthy lifestyle practices.

Resumo Há evidências plausíveis de que os sobreviventes a longo prazo da exposição a gás de 1984 e isocianato de metila (CIM), em Bhopal, e seus filhos nascidos após esse fato estão suscetíveis a doenças infecciosas/transmissíveis e não transmissíveis. A taxa de fatalidade COVID-19 de Bhopal sugere que os sobreviventes da tragédia do gás MIC estão em maior risco, devido a um sistema imunológico enfraquecido e comorbidades. Essa situação nos encorajou a refletir sobre o que sabemos, o que não sabemos e o que devemos saber sobre a suscetibilidade deles ao COVID-19. Este artigo objetiva responder a essas três perguntas que surgem na mente dos funcionários de saúde pública sobre estratégias de prevenção contra o COVID-19 e promoção da saúde na população afetada pelo Bhopal MIC (BMAP). Nossas visões e opiniões apresentadas neste artigo chamam a atenção para prevenir e reduzir as consequências do COVID-19 no BMAP. Da perspectiva da profilaxia com COVID-19, os indivíduos de alto risco do BMAP com condições comórbidas precisam ser identificados por meio de uma visita de porta em porta nas regiões severamente afetadas por gases e aconselhados a manter uma boa higiene respiratória, ingestão regular de dieta que estimule o sistema imunológico e seguir práticas de estilo de vida saudáveis.

Aquacultural, Nutritional and Therapeutic Biology of Delicious Seeds of Euryale ferox Salisb. : A Minireview.

BACKGROUND: Euryale ferox Salisb. (Makhana) is a rooted macro-hydrophyte, grown as a crop in north Bihar wetlands, India. Makhana refers to yummy pops prepared through mechanical smacking of the baked seeds of E. ferox. New techniques have been evolved to produce pops from seeds at a brisk pace. OBJECTIVE: It is specially associated with marital rituals possibly in view of its spermatogenic properties. It has a high amino acid index but a low glycemic value. The plant carries medicinal values against cardiovascular and diabetes-related diseases. Makhana pops with a high volume to mass ratio, is developed as a reliable system for drug delivery in the recent times. RESULTS: There is a fair prospect of raising multi-faceted industry based on Makhana culture, harvest, post-harvest safety, preparation of pops and various types of food products therefrom and marketing in areas where water-logging is considered as a curse. It may generate employment and strengthen regional economy propping check on population migration primarily due to non-employment and poverty. CONCLUSION: Active research is required to harness this macro-hydrophyte along with co-culture of compatible fish varieties and other hydrophytes into a sustainable livelihood and economic prosperity.

On the long-term effects of methyl isocyanate on cell-mediated immunity in Bhopal gas-exposed long-term survivors and their offspring.

Methyl isocyanate (MIC) is a toxic industrial chemical that is documented as a potent respiratory toxicant. We investigated cell-mediated immunity (CMI) in the MIC-exposed long-term survivors and their offspring born after the Bhopal gas-leak tragedy in 1984. Several earlier reports show inconsistency in the assessment of immunological effects of MIC on the human population. In these studies, important factors including lifestyle attributes were overlooked. We incorporated these factors also in our study of the basic cell-mediated immune function in the Bhopal MIC-affected population. Twenty-seven years after exposure, we assessed the circulating T-lymphocyte frequency using E-Rosette assay. A total of 46 MIC-exposed healthy long-term survivors and their offspring were studied vis-a-vis parallel gender-age group-matched unexposed controls from Bhopal and various other regions of India. The influence of several lifestyle variabilities (smoking, alcohol intake, and tobacco chewing) on T-lymphocyte frequency was also taken into consideration. Our observations suggest that Erythrocyte-Rosette-forming cell (E-RFC) distribution frequency is largely insignificant in the MIC-affected population as compared to controls ( p > 0.05). In the MIC-affected tobacco chewers, there was a trend of suppression in CMI (relative decrease = 10.3%) as compared to nonchewers. Overall, our results show negligible long-term effect of MIC on CMI measured in terms of E-RFC frequency. These observations are not in agreement with earlier findings that immunosuppressive effects of MIC exposure persist in the T-cells of the affected population. However, atypical lymphocytes were frequently observed as E-RFC in the exposed females when compared to all other subgroups. Hematopoietic disorders (atypical lymphocytosis) in the MIC-affected population along with previous reports on the cytogenetic and humoral immune system linking cancer risk and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are important.

Increased micronucleus frequency in peripheral blood lymphocytes contributes to cancer risk in the methyl isocyanate-affected population of Bhopal.

The Bhopal gas tragedy involving methyl isocyanate (MIC) is one of the most horrific industrial accidents in recent decades. We investigated the genotoxic effects of MIC in long-term survivors and their offspring born after the 1984 occurrence. There are a few cytogenetic reports showing genetic damage in the MIC-exposed survivors, but there is no information about the associated cancer risk. The same is true about offspring. For the first time, we here assessed the micronucleus (MN) frequency using cytokinesis-blocked micronucleus (CBMN) assay to predict cancer risk in the MIC-affected population of Bhopal. A total of 92 healthy volunteers (46 MIC- affected and 46 controls) from Bhopal and various regions of India were studied taking gender and age into consideration. Binucleated lymphocytes with micronuclei (BNMN), total number of micronuclei in lymphocytes (MNL), and nuclear division index (NDI) frequencies and their relationship to age, gender and several lifestyle variabilities (smoking, alcohol consumption and tobacco-chewing) were investigated. Our observations showed relatively higher BNMN and MNL (P<0.05) in the MIC-affected than in the controls. Exposed females (EF) exhibited significantly higher BNMN and MNL (P<0.01) than their unexposed counterparts. Similarly, female offspring of the exposed (FOE) also suffered higher BNMN and MNL (P<0.05) than in controls. A significant reduction in NDI (P<0.05) was found only in EF. The affected group of non-smokers and non-alcoholics featured a higher frequency of BNMN and MNL than the control group of non-smokers and non-alcoholics (P<0.01). Similarly, the affected group of tobacco chewers showed significantly higher BNMN and MNL (P<0.001) than the non-chewers. Amongst the affected, smoking and alcohol consumption were not associated with statistically significant differences in BNMN, MNL and NDI. Nevertheless, tobacco-chewing had a preponderant effect with respect to MNL. A reasonable correlation between MNL and lifestyle habits (smoking, alcohol consumption and tobacco-chewing) was observed only in the controls. Our results suggest that EF and FOE are more susceptible to cancer development, as compared to EM and MOE. The genotoxic outcome detected in FOE reflects their parental exposure to MIC. Briefly, the observed cytogenetic damage to the MIC-affected could contribute to cancer risk, especially in the EF and FOE.

Methyl isocyanate and carcinogenesis: bridgeable gaps in scientific knowledge.

Methyl isocyanate may have a role in cancer etiology, although the link is unclear. There is evidence in the literature that it can induce cancer in animals but the carcinogenic potency is weak. Pheochromocytoma of adrenal medulla and acinar cell tumors of pancreas have been observed in methyl isocyanate exposed animals. Conversely, emerging data from population-based epidemiological studies are contradictory since there is no evidence of such cancers in methyl isocyanate exposed humans. Recently, we reported a high prevalence of breast and lung cancers in such a population in Bhopal. In vitro findings appearing in the latest scientific literature suggest that genomic instability is caused by methyl isocyanate analogs in lung, colon, kidney, ovary epithelial cells, and that hepatocytes may undergo oncogenic transformation, have obvious implications. The conflicting information prompted us to present this update over the last three decades on methyl isocyanate-induced cancers after an extensive literature search using PubMed. While the pertinent literature remains limited, with a scarcity of strong laboratory analyses and field-epidemiological investigations, our succinct review of animal and human epidemiological data including in vitro evidences, should hopefully provide more insight to researchers, toxicologists, and public health professionals concerned with validation of the carcinogenicity of methyl isocyanate in humans.

Cancer morbidity among methyl isocyanate exposed long- term survivors and their offspring: a hospital-based five year descriptive study (2006 - 2011) and future directions to predict cancer risk in the affected population.

The purpose of this study was to update both researchers and clinicians about the cancer incidence in methyl isocyanate (MIC) exposed long-term survivors and in their offspring, focusing on the etiological plausibility. In the time period 2006-2011, cancer morbidity was evaluated in the population surviving after exposure to (MIC) on December 3rd, 1984, in Bhopal. This descriptive study is based on hospital registration of 1261 cancer patients those are MIC gas victims and their subsequently born offspring. Morbidity status was studied on the basis of gender, age, organ and site with relative percentages. Cancers on specific sites, with special reference to breast (n=231) (18.31%), lung (n=103) (8.16%), tongue (n=103) (8.16%), buccal mucosa (n=94) (7.45%), cervix (n=72) (5.70%), and esophagus (n=68) (5.39%) were found in high proportions. Ovary (n=43) (3.40%), brain (n=42) (3.33%), larynx (n=40) (3.17%), non-Hodgkin's (n=31) (2.45%), gallbladder (n=29) (2.29%), stomach (n=28) (2.22%), head and neck (n=28) (2.22%), liver (n=27) (2.14%), acute lymphoid leukemia (n=24) (1.90%), rectum (n=20) (1.58%), colon (n=20) (1.58%), chronic myeloid leukemia (n=17) (1.34%), alveolus (n=17) (1.34%), Hodgkin's (n=14) (1.11%), uterus (n=14) (1.11%), multiple myeloma (n=14) (1.11%), and prostate (n=11) (0.87%) lesions were observed less frequently. Remarkably, gradual increase of cancers on different organs and sites were observed in the long- term survivors and their offspring. The present study observed some cancers which were not previously reported in this population. In addition, we also present the future research directions with systematic approaches to predict cancer risk in long-term survivors and their future generations. On the basis of this morbidity report, we suggest the need of biological surveillance through immune system biomonitoring and cytogenetic screening to predict the cancer risk in the MIC exposed population and their offspring.