Abstract
We determined hair mercury concentration in 33 healthy cats for calculating the upper limit of the tentative reference value in hair mercury concentration, and determined hair mercury concentration in 67 cats treated in animal hospitals. Then we compared the hair mercury concentration in cats treated in animal hospitals with the upper limit of tentative reference value. Hair mercury concentration was ranged between 0.2 and 6.4 mg/kg in the healthy cats, and the upper limit of tentative reference value was calculated as 9.2 mg/kg. Hair mercury concentration was ranged between 0.1 and 17.5 mg/kg in diseased cats, and exceeded the upper limit of tentative reference value in two diseased cats. Three and four cats were diagnosed as neurologic disorder and cardiovascular disease, respectively, which are suggested to be induced by mercury poisoning in humans. However, hair mercury concentration did not exceed the upper limit of tentative reference value in these cats. Four cats were diagnosed as stomatitis, of which two cats had higher hair mercury concentration than the upper limit of tentative reference value. Although amalgam filling was reported to induce stomatitis through mercury poisoning in humans, the cats diagnosed as stomatitis were not treated with amalgam fillings. In the present study, mercury excess intake is suggested to be a potential risk of stomatitis. A large scale survey is necessary for clarifying the relationship between the incidence of some diseases and hair mercury concentration.
