Foodborne Marine Biotoxins

Abstract

Abstract : Marine biotoxins, which are globally distributed, are responsible for numberous human intoxication syndromes due to the ingestion of cooked or uncooked seafood. Over 2500 cases of foodborne diseases caused by fish and shellfish toxicity were reported to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) between 1993 and 1997 in the United States (1). Marine biotoxins are estimated to cause over 60,000 foodborne intoxications worldwide each year(2). In addition to human intoxications, they cause massive fish kills, negatively impact coastal tourism and fishery industries, and have been implicated in mass mortalities of birds and marine mammals. The long-term environmental and public health effects of chronic exposure to these toxins are poorly understood; research needs are only beginning to be addressed(2,3). Ingestion of seafood containing marine biotoxins causes six identifiable syndromes; paralytic shellfish poisoning(PS), neurotoxic shellfish poisoning (NSP), ciguatera fish poisoning(CFP), diarrhetic shellfish poisoning(DSP), anmesic shellfish poisoning(ASP), and azaspiracid poisoning(AZP). With the exception of CFP, which, as the name implies, is caused by eating contaminated fnfish, all are caused by the ingestion of shellfish. And, with the exception of ASP, the causative toxins are all isolated from marine dinoflagellates. ASP is notable as a syndrome caused by the only known toxin produced by a diatom. These toxin-producing species are a small minority of the only known toxin produced by a diatom. These toxin-producing species are a small minority of the only known toxin produced by a diatom. These toxin-producing species are a small minority of the thousands of known species of phytoplankton. However, under the correct environmental conditions, they can proliferate to high cell densities known as blooms.