Ciguatera is a foodborne illness poisoning in humans caused by eating marine species whose flesh is contaminated with a toxin known as ciguatoxin, that is present in many micro-organisms (particularly, the micro-algae Gambierdiscus toxicus) living in tropical waters. Like many naturally and artificially occurring toxins, the ciguatoxin bioaccumulates more at higher level of the food chain, such as predator species near the top of the food chain in tropical waters, such as barracuda, moray eel, and amberjack, although many other species have been found to cause occasional outbreaks of ciguatera. Ciguatoxin is very heat_resistant, so ciguatoxin_laden fish cannot be detoxified by cooking.
Due to the localized nature of the ciguatoxin_producing micro_orgaisms, ciguatera illness is only common in tropical waters, particularly the Caribbean, and usually is associated with fish caught in tropical reef waters.
The symptoms of ciguatera are gastrointestinal distress (nausea, vomiting) followed by neurological symptoms such as headaches, muscle aches, numbness, and hallucinations. Severe cases of ciguatera can also result in hot-cold reversal, in which hot and cold sensations seem reversed.
Ciguatera is reported to be the most common form of sea food poisoning in the world (1, 2, 4) with the estimated number of cases ranging from 50,000 (1, 2) to 1,000,000 (3, 9) annually.
Ciguatera may also have a slow insidious onset if there is a gradual accumulation of toxins due to the continuing consumption of fish which have a low level of toxicity (10, 30).
Ciguatera may be caused by some 400 different species of tropical reef fish around the world (1, 16,), and, in theory at least, the avoidance of these species will considerably lower the risk of falling victim to ciguatera.
Ciguatera is a form of human poisoning caused by the consumption of subtropical and tropical marine finfish which have accumulated naturally occurring toxins through their diet.
The toxins are known to originate from several dinoflagellate (algae) species that are common to ciguatera endemic regions in the lower latitudes.
Ciguaterapoisoning is usually self-limiting, and signs of poisoning often subside within several days from onset.
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