Amnesic shellfish poisoning

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) is an illness caused by consumption of

brain damage
, and death in severe cases.

This toxin is produced naturally by marine diatoms belonging to the genus Pseudo-nitzschia and the species Nitzschia navis-varingica.[2] When accumulated in high concentrations by shellfish during filter feeding, domoic acid can then be passed on to birds, marine mammals, and humans by consumption of the contaminated shellfish.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

Although human illness due to domoic acid has only been associated with shellfish, the toxin can bioaccumulate in many marine organisms that consume phytoplankton, such as anchovies and sardines. Intoxication by domoic acid in nonhuman organisms is frequently referred to as domoic acid poisoning.

Symptoms and treatment

In the brain, domoic acid especially damages the

kainate receptors, causing an influx of calcium. Although calcium flowing into cells is a normal event, the uncontrolled increase of calcium causes the cell to degenerate.[11][12]

Gastrointestinal symptoms can appear 24 hours after ingestion of affected molluscs. They may include

abnormal heart rhythms, and coma.[citation needed
]

People poisoned with very high doses of the toxin or displaying risk factors, such as old age and kidney failure, can die. Death has occurred in four of 107 confirmed cases. In a few cases, permanent sequelae included short-term memory loss and peripheral polyneuropathy.[citation needed]

No antidote for domoic acid is known, so if symptoms fit the description, immediate medical attention is advised. Cooking or freezing affected fish or shellfish tissue does not lessen the toxicity. Domoic acid is a heat-resistant and very stable toxin which can damage kidneys at concentrations that are 1/100th of those that cause neurological effects.[citation needed]

Discovery

ASP was first discovered in humans late in 1987, when a serious outbreak of food poisoning occurred in eastern Canada.[1][13] Three elderly patients died and other victims suffered long-term neurological problems. Because the victims suffered from memory loss, the term "amnesic" shellfish poisoning is used.[14]

Epidemiologists from

Halifax, Nova Scotia. Integrating bioassay-directed fractionation with chemical analysis, the team identified the toxin on the afternoon of December 16, only four days after the start of the concerted investigation.[15][16]

Possible animal effects

On June 22, 2006, a

Pacific Coast Highway. The phycotoxin is found in the local coastal waters.[citation needed
]

Since March 2007, marine mammal and seabird strandings and deaths off the Southern California coast have increased markedly. These incidents have been linked to the recent and dramatic increase of a naturally occurring toxin produced by algae. Most of the animals found dead tested positive for domoic acid.[citation needed]

According to the Channel Islands Marine and Wildlife Institute,

It is generally accepted that the incidence of problems associated with toxic algae is increasing. Possible reasons to explain this increase include natural mechanisms of species dispersal (currents and tides) to a host of human-related phenomena such as nutrient enrichment (agricultural run-off), climate shifts, or transport of algae species via ship ballast water.[18]

In popular culture

In the TV series Elementary episode "The Red Team" (original air date January 31, 2013), a witness is intentionally poisoned with domoic acid.[citation needed]

In the "Bad Fish" episode of Get a Life (original air date: February 2, 1992), Sharon and Gus get amnesia after eating bad shellfish, and Chris seizes the opportunity to convince them that they are his best friends.[citation needed]

Domoic acid poisoning may have caused an August 18, 1961, invasion of thousands of frantic seabirds in Capitola and Santa Cruz, California.[19] Director Alfred Hitchcock heard about this invasion while working on his adaptation of the Daphne du Maurier novelette "The Birds" for his feature film The Birds (1963), and asked the Santa Cruz Sentinel for any further news copy as "research for his new thriller."

See also

References

  1. ^
    PMID 10485519. Archived from the original on 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2008-08-13.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link
    )
  2. ^ "IOC-UNESCO Taxonomic Reference List of Harmful Micro Algae (HABs)". Archived from the original on 2016-09-17. Retrieved 2012-05-17. Nitzschia navis-varingica
  3. ISBN 978-3-540-74009-4
    .
  4. S2CID 51778319. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 2016-06-29. Retrieved 2012-05-17.
  5. ISBN 978-0-12-372584-4
    .
  6. PMID 19505488
    .
  7. ISBN 978-9400713260
    .
  8. doi:10.1111/j.1748-7692.2011.00480.x
    .
  9. S2CID 55094773
    .
  10. hdl:1912/5118
    .
  11. ISBN 978-0-8138-2700-1
    .
  12. PMID 18728725
    .
  13. doi:10.1139/f89-156
    .
  14. PMID 31084045. Archived from the original
    on 2020-09-21. Retrieved 2012-07-10.
  15. S2CID 40176293
    .
  16. doi:10.4224/23000874
    .
  17. ^ "Possibly drunk pelican hits windshield". NBC News. 24 June 2006. Archived from the original on 2017-03-16.
  18. ^ Domic Acid Information and History Archived May 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  19. doi:10.1038/ngeo1360
    .

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Amnesic_shellfish_poisoning&oldid=1219181193"