Within the MiSSE project an already started project was finalized and published. Serum from Swedish household cats was sampled in 2010 and have been analyzed for a number of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), their metabolites (OH-PBDEs), one polybrominated biphenyl (BB-209) and 2,4,6-Tribromophenol. The cats sampled were either healthy or diagnosed with feline hyperthyroidism. This study could demonstrate that hyperthyroid cats compared to healthy cats had higher serum concentrations for some of the investigated PBDEs. The study also reported BB-209 in all cat serum samples, at levels similar to the fully brominated PBDE (BDE-209), which is intriguing as the production and application of this flame retardant ceased in year 2000. The identification of the source of this contaminant will continue within the MiSSE project. The results presented is strengthening the hypothesis that cats health status are affected by contaminants typically associated to household dust.
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“Higher PBDE Serum Concentrations May Be Associated with Feline Hyperthyroidism in Swedish Cats“. Jessica Norrgran, Bernt Jones, Anders Bignert, Ioannis Athanassiadis, and Åke Bergman. Environmental Science & Technology, DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5b00234 Publication Date (Web): March 25, 2015
