Re: Poison from reef fish
Dear Jim - and everyone else interested in this matter:
A long description of ciguatera and some of the known cases can be found on the home page of Center for Disease Control: www.cdc.gov.
You can also look on the home page of the Food and Drug Administration. Address: vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/sea-ill.html
Or you can just go ahead and read the following (Warning: It is long but enlightening and quoting the above mentioned home page from FDA)
"Ciguatera 2. Name of Disease: Ciguatera Fish Poisoning Ciguatera is a form of human poisoning caused by the consumption of subtropical and tropical marine finfish which have accumulated naturally occurring toxins through their diet. The toxins are known to originate from several dinoflagellate (algae) species that are common to ciguatera endemic regions in the lower latitudes.
3. Nature of Disease: Manifestations of ciguatera in humans usually involves a combination of gastrointestinal, neurological, and cardiovascular disorders. Symptoms defined within these general categories vary with the geographic origin of toxic fish. 4. Normal Course of Disease: Initial signs of poisoning occur within six hours after consumption of toxic fish and include perioral numbness and tingling (paresthesia), which may spread to the extremities, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Neurological signs include intensified paresthesia, arthralgia, myalgia, headache, temperature sensory reversal and acute sensitivity to temperature extremes, vertigo, and muscular weakness to the point of prostration. Cardiovascular signs include arrhythmia, bradycardia or tachycardia, and reduced blood pressure. Ciguatera poisoning is usually self-limiting, and signs of poisoning often subside within several days from onset. However, in severe cases the neurological symptoms are known to persist from weeks to months. In a few isolated cases neurological symptoms have persisted for several years, and in other cases recovered patients have experienced recurrence of neurological symptoms months to years after recovery. Such relapses are most often associated with changes in dietary habits or with consumption of alcohol. There is a low incidence of death resulting from respiratory and cardiovascular failure. 5. Diagnosis of Human Illness: Clinical testing procedures are not presently available for the diagnosis of ciguatera in humans. Diagnosis is based entirely on symptomology and recent dietary history. An enzyme immunoassay (EIA) designed to detect toxic fish in field situations is under evaluation by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) and may provide some measure of protection to the public in the future. 6. Associated Foods: Marine finfish most commonly implicated in ciguatera fish poisoning include the groupers, barracudas, snappers, jacks, mackerel, and triggerfish. Many other species of warm-water fishes harbor ciguatera toxins. The occurrence of toxic fish is sporadic, and not all fish of a given species or from a given locality will be toxic. 7. Relative Frequency of Disease: The relative frequency of ciguatera fish poisoning in the United States is not known. The disease has only recently become known to the general medical community, and there is a concern that incidence is largely under-reported because of the generally non-fatal nature and short duration of the disease. 8. Target Population: All humans are believed to be susceptible to ciguatera toxins. Populations in tropical/subtropical regions are most likely to be affected because of the frequency of exposure to toxic fishes. However, the increasing per capita consumption of fishery products coupled with an increase in interregional transportation of seafood products has expanded the geographic range of human poisonings. 9. Analysis of Foods: The ciguatera toxins can be recovered from toxic fish through tedious extraction and purification procedures. The mouse bioassay is a generally accepted method of establishing toxicity of suspect fish. A much simplified EIA method intended to supplant the mouse bioassay for identifying ciguatera toxins is under evaluation. 10. Selected Outbreaks: Isolated cases of ciguatera fish poisoning have occurred along the eastern coast of the United States from south Florida to Vermont. Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico experience sporadic cases with some regularity. A major outbreak of ciguatera occurred in Puerto Rico between April and June 1981 in which 49 persons were afflicted and two fatalities occurred. This outbreak prompted government officials of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to ban the sale of barracuda, amberjack, and blackjack. In February-March of 1987 a large common-source outbreak of ciguatera occurred among Canadian vacationers returning from a Caribbean resort. Of 147 tourists, 61 ate a fish casserole shortly before departure, resulting in 57 identified cases of ciguatera.
In May of 1988 several hundred pounds of fish (primarily hogfish) from the Dry Tortuga Bank were responsible for over 100 human poisonings in Palm Beach County, Florida. The fish were sold to a seafood distributor after the fishermen (sport spearfishermen) themselves were first afflicted but dismissed their illness as seasickness and hangover. The poisonings resulted in a statewide warning against eating hogfish, grouper, red snapper, amberjack, and barracuda caught at the Dry Tortuga Bank. "
Regards, Susanne
