Management of Ciguatoxin Risk in Eastern Australia.

Hazel Farrell,Shauna A Murray,Alan W Edwards,Anthony Zammit

doi:10.3390/toxins9110367

Abstract

Between 2014 and 2016, five cases of ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP), involving twenty four individuals, were linked to Spanish Mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson) caught in the coastal waters of the state of New South Wales (NSW) on the east coast of Australia. Previously, documented cases of CFP in NSW were few, and primarily linked to fish imported from other regions. Since 2015, thirteen individuals were affected across four additional CFP cases in NSW, linked to fish imported from tropical locations. The apparent increase in CFP in NSW from locally sourced catch, combined with the risk of CFP from imported fish, has highlighted several considerations that should be incorporated into risk management strategies to minimize CFP exposure for seafood consumers.

Highlights

Ciguatoxins (CTXs) are naturally occurring marine toxins, produced by species of the benthic dinoflagellate genus Gambierdiscus, common in the coastal reef environments of tropical and sub-tropical regions [1,2,3]
Five incidents of ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP), affecting twenty four individuals, were associated with Spanish Mackerel caught in New South Wales (NSW) coastal waters between 2014 and 2016 (Table 1)
The nine cases investigated highlighted that both imported fish from tropical locations and Spanish Mackerel caught in NSW are potential causes of CFP for NSW consumers

Summary

Introduction

Ciguatoxins (CTXs) are naturally occurring marine toxins, produced by species of the benthic dinoflagellate genus Gambierdiscus, common in the coastal reef environments of tropical and sub-tropical regions [1,2,3]. Despite CFP being frequently misdiagnosed as other seafood related diseases (e.g., paralytic shellfish poisoning, neurotoxic shellfish poisoning, scombroid fish poisoning or chronic illnesses such as multiple sclerosis and chronic fatigue syndrome) [7,9,10], it is the most common non-bacterial seafood related illness worldwide [7,9]. In Australia, most reports of CFP have been derived from fish caught in the tropical state of Queensland [4,13]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion