“Yusho”,
a Japanese word meaning “oil disease”, refers
to the unprecedented mass food poisoning in western Japan
caused by ingesting a commercial brand of rice oil that
had been contaminated with “miracle” compounds,
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and related compounds.
The Yusho poisoning incident occurred in 1968, poisoned
thousands of innocent people, and turned into one of the
most serious and miserable man-made disasters ever experienced
by man.
This book describes all the aspects of the incident, including
the remarkably quick and complete identification of the
cause of the poisoning which was achieved by the devoted
and united effort of a research team at Kyushu University.
Also included are chapters on the biochemical, pharmacological
and pathological effects of PCBs and related compounds,
the clinical features of Yusho food poisoning, and the prognosis
of the victims. The major toxic agents of the poisoning
were later identified to be polychlorinated dibenzofurans,
which are generated from PCBs. Since these compounds are
toxic, carcinogenic, and highly persistent in the tissues
of poisoned patients, great efforts have been made through
extensive animal and clinical studies to discover methods
of detoxicating the compounds or quickly excreting the compounds
from the body of poisoned patients. Although a magic pill
that can cure poisoned patients has not yet been found,
several methods have been established to accelerate the
fecal excretion of polychlorinated dibenzofurans still remaining
in the bodies of patients. Besides these scientific findings,
this book describes the administrative actions taken by
the Japanese and local governments in the aftermath of the
incident and the lawsuits filed by the victims. Thus, this
book will be useful to not only scientists but also administrators
and the general public who are deeply concerned about environmental
problems. We sincerely appreciate any comments or suggestions
that would help Yusho patients regain their health from
readers of this book.
Masanori Kuratsune,
MD
Professor Emeritus, Kyushu University
mskura@jcom.home.ne.jp
Correspondence to
:
Gaku Tsuji, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, Research and Clinical Center for Yusho and Dioxin (REC2YD)
