Warning!!!! Ciguatera. Visitors of tropical and Caribbean destinations be aware!! Ciguatera is a foodborne illness caused by eating certain reef fish whose flesh is contaminated with toxins originally produced by dinoflagellates such as Gambierdiscus toxicus which live in tropical and subtropical waters. These dinoflagellates adhere to coral, algae and seaweed, where they are eaten by herbivorous fish who in turn are eaten by larger carnivorous fish. In this way the toxins move up the food chain and biomagnify. Gambierdiscus toxicus is the primary dinoflagellate responsible for the production of a number of similar toxins that cause ciguatera.[citation needed] These toxins include ciguatoxin, maitotoxin, scaritoxin and palytoxin. Predator species near the top of the food chain in tropical and subtropical waters, such as barracudas, snapper, moray eels, groupers, and amberjacks, are most likely to cause ciguatera poisoning, although many other species cause occasional outbreaks of toxicity, e.g. triggerfishes or parrotfishes. Ciguatoxin is odourless, tasteless and very heat-resistant, so ciguatoxin-laden fish cannot be detoxified by conventional cooking. Researchers suggest that ciguatera outbreaks caused by warm climatic conditions propelled the migratory voyages of Polynesians between 1000 and 1400
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 21:40:18 +0000