Exposure to high levels of methylmercury has produced fatalities and
devastating neurological damage among adult survivors.1
Severe cases of in utero methylmercury poisoning strongly resemble cerebral
palsy and are often accompanied by deafness and mental retardation.1,2 In addition, clinically evident cases
of neurological damage have occurred among infants born to mothers whose own
symptoms were often only transient paresthesias. Consequently, the fetus is
considered much more sensitive to methylmercury exposure than is the adult.