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Cyanotoxins in African waterbodies: occurrence, adverse effects, and potential risk to animal and human health

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Abstract

Public concerns about cyanotoxins production in water and its detrimental impacts on human and animal health are growing primarily due to the widespread eutrophication observed in aquatic ecosystems. A review of relevant literature was done to determine the degree of cyanotoxin occurrence and its harmful effects in African waterbodies. Data were extracted from 64 published studies from 1990 to 2022 that quantified the concentration of cyanotoxins in African aquatic ecosystems. Cyanotoxins have been reported in 95 waterbodies (29 lakes, 41 reservoirs, 10 ponds, 9 rivers, 5 coastal waters, and 1 irrigation canal) from 15 African countries. Cyanotoxins were documented in all the regions of Africa except the central region. Microcystins have been reported in nearly all waterbodies (98.9%), but anatoxin-a (5.3%), cylindrospermopsin (2.1%), nodularins (2.1%), homoanatoxin-a (1.1%), and β-N-methylamino-l-alanine (1.1%) were encountered in a small number of water ecosystems, homoanatoxin-a and β-N-methylamino-l-alanine each occurred in one waterbody. The largest concentrations of microcystins and nodularins were reported in South African Lakes Nhlanganzwani (49,410 μg L−1) and Zeekoevlei (347,000 μg g−1). Microcystin concentrations exceeding the WHO guideline for lifetime drinking water (1 μg L−1) were reported in 63% of the aquatic ecosystems surveyed. The most frequently reported toxin-producing cyanobacteria genus is Microcystis spp. (73.7%), followed by Oscillatoria spp. (35.8%) and Dolichospermum spp. (33.7%). Cyanotoxin-related animal mortality and human illness were reported in the continent. Consequently, it is necessary to regularly monitor the level of nutrients, cyanobacteria, and cyanotoxins in African waterbodies in an integrated manner to devise a sustainable water resources management.

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  1. Africa Centre of Excellence for Water Management, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Tesfaye Muluye, Flipos Engdaw & Adem Mohammed

  2. Department of Zoological Sciences, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Tadesse Fetahi

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Muluye, T., Fetahi, T., Engdaw, F. et al. Cyanotoxins in African waterbodies: occurrence, adverse effects, and potential risk to animal and human health. Environ Geochem Health 45, 7519–7542 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-023-01724-3

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