Clinical Observations on 3,009 Cases of Ciguatera (Fish Poisoning) in the South Pacific

Bagnis, R.; Kuberski, Tim; Laugier, S.

doi:10.4269/ajtmh.1979.28.1067

Cited by 307 publications

(168 citation statements)

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“…However, the threshold suggested in the past is approximately 30 C, which St. Thomas does not typically exceed; the average Table 4 Demographics of US Virgin Islands, 1980 and 2000 16,20 Our findings support the idea that other factors, including demographic and behavioral, are associated with changes in ciguatera incidence over time, with lower socioeconomic status (particularly education), fish consumption three times a week or more, being born in the Caribbean (outside the US Virgin Islands), and previous ciguatera episodes associated with illness. [21][22][23] Lower socioeconomic status presumably increases risk of ciguatera, because lower income individuals may have few affordable protein alternatives to locally caught fish. 21 Persons born on another Caribbean Islands may not have had as much experience with ciguatera (and fish at high risk of being toxic, such as barracuda) as persons born in the Virgin Islands; this finding may also serve as a proxy for differences in socioeconomic status.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ciguatera Incidence in the US Virgin Islands Has Not Increased over a 30-Year Time Period Despite Rising Seawater Temperatures

Radke¹,

Grattan²,

Cook³

et al. 2013

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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Abstract. Ciguatera fish poisoning is the most common marine food poisoning worldwide. It has been hypothesized that increasing seawater temperature will result in increasing ciguatera incidence. In St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, we performed an island-wide telephone survey (N = 807) and a medical record review of diagnosed ciguatera cases at the emergency department of the sole hospital and compared these data with comparable data sources collected in 1980. Annual incidence from both recent data sources remained high (12 per 1,000 among adults in the telephone survey). However, the combined data sources suggest that incidence has declined by 20% or more or remained stable over 30 years, whereas seawater temperatures were increasing. Illness was associated with lower education levels, higher levels of fish consumption, and having previous episodes of ciguatera; population shifts from 1980 to 2010 in these factors could explain an incidence decline of approximately 3 per 1,000, obscuring effects from rising seawater temperature.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ciguatera Incidence in the US Virgin Islands Has Not Increased over a 30-Year Time Period Despite Rising Seawater Temperatures

Radke¹,

Grattan²,

Cook³

et al. 2013

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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“…paraesthesia) and physical (e.g. diarrhoea) effects, which can be severe and endure for months Bagnis et al (1979). Occasionally, poisoning can be fatal.…”

Section: Fijian Food Taboosmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution of cultural adaptations: Fijian food taboos protect against dangerous marine toxins

2010

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The application of evolutionary theory to understanding the origins of our species' capacities for social learning has generated key insights into cultural evolution. By focusing on how our psychology has evolved to adaptively extract beliefs and practices by observing others, theorists have hypothesized how social learning can, over generations, give rise to culturally evolved adaptations. While much field research documents the subtle ways in which culturally transmitted beliefs and practices adapt people to their local environments, and much experimental work reveals the predicted patterns of social learning, little research connects real-world adaptive cultural traits to the patterns of transmission predicted by these theories. Addressing this gap, we show how food taboos for pregnant and lactating women in Fiji selectively target the most toxic marine species, effectively reducing a woman's chances of fish poisoning by 30 per cent during pregnancy and 60 per cent during breastfeeding. We further analyse how these taboos are transmitted, showing support for cultural evolutionary models that combine familial transmission with selective learning from locally prestigious individuals. In addition, we explore how particular aspects of human cognitive processes increase the frequency of some non-adaptive taboos. This case demonstrates how evolutionary theory can be deployed to explain both adaptive and non-adaptive behavioural patterns.

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“…Ciguatoxins function as sodium channel agonists and consist of many congeners. They are lipid-soluble polyether compounds that can accumulate in fish flesh and are hypothesized to also accumulate within humans, as symptoms from repeated poisonings can be more severe (Bagnis, Kuberski, & Laugier, 1979). CFP can cause a diverse range of symptoms from gastrointestinal pain, vomiting, parasthesias and neurological symptoms such as the reversal of hot and cold sensations (dysesthesias) or chronic fatigue that can persist for months to years in extreme cases (Dickey & Plakas, 2010).…”

Section: Ciguatera Fish Poisoningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phenotypic diversity within two toxic dinoflagellate genera: environmental and transcriptomic studies of species diversity in Alexandrium and Gambierdiscus

Pitz¹

2016

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Dinoflagellates are a diverse group of single-celled eukaryotic phytoplankton that are important for their unique genetics and molecular biology, the multitude of ecological roles they play, and the ability of multiple species to produce toxins that affect human and ecosystems health. Two dinoflagellate genera, Alexandrium and Gambierdiscus each contain species that can cause human poisoning syndromes, although the methods of toxin transfer, accumulation, and exposure are very different. Gambierdiscus is a benthic organism that produces lipophilic ciguatoxins that can bioaccumulate in coral reef fish and cause ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) in human consumers. Alexandrium is a planktonic species that produces saxitoxins that can directly accumulate in shellfish and cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) in humans. Both genera contain multiple species that vary dramatically in toxicity and physiology. Through transcriptomic analysis, this thesis describes the genetic diversity present across dinoflagellates that produce saxitoxin, elaborating on differences in their complement of genes within the saxitoxin biosynthesis pathway. This study demonstrated retention and expression of some of these saxitoxin genes by non-toxic species within Alexandrium, as well as in Gambierdiscus, which does not produce saxitoxins. Furthermore it confirmed the presence of certain transcripts only in toxin-producing species. This thesis then developed novel fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) probes that can be used to identify and enumerate six Gambierdiscus species, thereby enabling the community composition of Gambierdiscus to be examined in a quantifiable manner. The probes were tested in the laboratory on cultures, and then successfully applied to field samples from Florida Keys and Hawai'i. Gambierdiscus species are diverse in both their toxicity and optimal temperature ranges for growth. Analysis of Gambierdiscus community composition in an area of variable temperature allowed the characterization of species shifts that were driven both by a seasonal increase in mean seawater temperatures and spatial variability of temperature experienced between tidal pools. Overall this thesis advances the knowledge of dinoflagellate genetics and ecology, aids in the characterization of species harmful to public health, and provides tools and approaches to help monitor and manage harmful effects from these species, including some that are projected to increase with climate change.

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Clinical Observations on 3,009 Cases of Ciguatera (Fish Poisoning) in the South Pacific

Cited by 307 publications

References 0 publications

Ciguatera Incidence in the US Virgin Islands Has Not Increased over a 30-Year Time Period Despite Rising Seawater Temperatures

Ciguatera Incidence in the US Virgin Islands Has Not Increased over a 30-Year Time Period Despite Rising Seawater Temperatures

The evolution of cultural adaptations: Fijian food taboos protect against dangerous marine toxins

Phenotypic diversity within two toxic dinoflagellate genera: environmental and transcriptomic studies of species diversity in Alexandrium and Gambierdiscus

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