ciguatera poisoning


The ciguatera, a coral reef fish, secretes ichthyosarcotoxin—ciguatoxin—produced by the reef dinoflagellate, Gambierdiscus toxicus; it is concentrated and unchanged up the food chain by herbivores and carnivores. CP is the most common marine intoxication in the US; 400 species of fish are implicated—e.g., barracuda, grouper, red snapper, amberjack, surgeonfish, sea bass; unlike scombroid poisoning, it may cause morbidity regardless of the form of preparation
Treatment IV mannitol reverses symptoms

ciguatera poisoning

Nutrition The ciguatera, a coral reef fish that secretes ichthyosarcotoxin–ciguatoxin, a substance produced by the reef dinoflagellate, Gambierdiscus toxicus, and concentrated, unchanged up the food chain by herbivores and carnivores; CP is the most common marine intoxication in the US; 400 spp of fish are implicated–eg, barracuda, grouper, red snapper, amberjack, surgeonfish, sea bass and–unlike scombroid poisoning, may cause morbidity regardless of the form of preparation Clinical Onset 6-12 hrs after ingestion; N&V, cramping, diarrhea, paresthesias, reversal of temperature sense, arthralgias, myalgias, cranial nerve palsies, pruritus with alcohol ingestion, chills, hypotension, bradycardia, respiratory paralysis or death, average duration 8 days Diagnosis RIA, ELISA Treatment IV mannitol reverses Sx. See Fish, Sushi. Cf Scombroid poisoning.

ciguatera poisoning

A kind of poisoning common in the Caribbean and Pacific regions acquired by eating fish containing ciguatoxin. This is thought to originate in an alga Gambierdiscus toxicus . There is numbness of the mouth and throat, pain in the abdomen, muscles and joints, headache, breathlessness and paralysis.