Mercury poisoning in Indonesia Nur Aini, 33, embraces her beloved Camelia, 12 (village of Cisitu, West Java, Indonesia, January 2023). Minamata’s disease is caused by chronic mercury poisoning. This metal, used in hundreds of illegal gold mines in the forests of Java, Indonesia, is contaminating the aquifers of many villages. In Cisitu, in the west of the island, there are dozens of cases of poisoning. Camelia, 12 years old, has not felt, does not see and has suffered from epilepsy since she was 4: her mother, Nur Aini, 33, drank, without her knowledge, contaminated water during her pregnancy. The disease is manifested by neurological problems, difficulty in movement, muscle weakness, visual, auditory and cognitive deficits. Paralysis or coma can also occur until death. The disease is transmitted by direct contact or from the mother to the fetus with morphological and anatomical abnormalities.