What are the symptoms of ciguatera?
What are the symptoms of ciguatera?
Symptoms. Ciguatera symptoms usually develop 3–6 hours after eating contaminated fish but may come as many as 30 hours later. Symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain.
How long can ciguatera poisoning last?
Irregular heart rhythms and low blood pressure may also be experienced. Ciguatera poisoning symptoms typically resolve within several days, but may last up to 4 weeks. The symptoms of ciguatera poisoning may resemble other medical conditions.
What causes CFP?
Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP), also known simply as ciguatera, is a foodborne illness caused by eating reef fish whose flesh is contaminated with certain toxins. Such individual fish are said to be ciguatoxic.
What body system does ciguatera toxin directly affect?
Ciguatera toxin acts on sodium channels in cell membranes, inducing membrane depolarization in nerve cells and striated muscle. The predominant symptoms come from the peripheral nervous system and can last for many months. Rare fatalities have been reported from respiratory paralysis.
How common is ciguatera poisoning?
At least 50,000 people per year who live in or visit tropical and subtropical areas suffer from Ciguatera worldwide. For example, CDC and others estimate that only 2-10% of Ciguatera cases are actually reported in the United States.
How can ciguatera poisoning be prevented?
Travelers can take the following precautions to prevent ciguatera fish poisoning:
- Avoid or limit consumption of reef fish.
- Never eat high-risk fish such as barracuda or moray eel.
- Avoid eating the parts of the fish that concentrate ciguatera toxin: liver, intestines, roe, and head.
How does ciguatera affect the body?
Ciguatera presents primarily as an acute neurologic disease manifested by a constellation of gastrointestinal (diarrhea, abdominal cramps and vomiting), neurologic (paresthesias, pain in the teeth, pain on urination, blurred vision, temperature reversal) and cardiovascular (arrhythmias, heart block) signs and symptoms …
Is there a test for ciguatera?
Ciguatera toxins are odorless, tasteless, and generally undetectable by any simple chemical test; therefore, bioassays have traditionally been used to monitor suspect fish.