Ciguatera Australia

Holmes, M.J., Gillepsie, N.C., and Lewis, R.J. 1988. Toxicity and morphology of Ostreopsis cf siamensis cultured from a ciguatera endemic region of Queensland, Australia. Proceedings of the 6th International Coral Reef Symposium 3 49-54. 

Dinoflagellates that produce one or more of the toxins associated with ciguatera are found worldwide within coastal waters between 35° north and south of the equator [90]. As has been pointed out, however, ciguatera occurs more commonly on islands rather than continental coasts, the most notable exceptions being Florida and the Great Barrier Reef of Australia [64]. It is hypothesized that the implicated dinoflagellate thrives in areas most exposed to oceanic flows and does not thrive near continents or other major landmasses with land runoff. 

Gillespie NC, Lewis RJ, Peam JH, Bourke ATC, Hohnes MJ, Bourke JB, Shields WJ. Ciguatera in Australia occurrence, clinical features, pathophysiology and management. MedJAust 145 584—590, 1986. 

Heil, C.A., Bird, P, and Dennison, W.C. Macroalgal habitat preference of ciguatera dinoflagellates at Heron Island, a coral cay in the southeastern Great Barrier Reef, Australia, in Harmful Algae, Reguera, B., Blanco, J., Fernandez, M.L. and Wyatt, T. Eds., Xunta de Galicia, I.O.C. of UNESCO, 1998, pp. 52-53. 

The scarcity of purified ciguatoxin standards and the challenging nature of analyses for ciguatoxins in fish tissues precluded development or adoption of ciguatoxin methods in most laboratories. While many are certainly capable, only a few laboratories have produced the necessary standards and sustained support required for development and routine application of screening assays and confirmatory analyses for ciguatera toxins. Protocols for in vitro assay and LC-MS/MS analysis of fish tissues have been developed in U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) laboratories. Laboratories in Japan (T. Yasumoto) and Australia (R. Lewis) use similar protocols that predate those in the United States. 

Hohnes, M.J., R.J. Lewis, M. Sellin, and R. Street (1994). The origin of ciguatera in Platypus Bay, Australia. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. Brisbane 34, 505-512. 

Karalis, T., L. Gupta, M. Chu, B.A. Campbell, M.A. Capra, and P.A. Maywood (2000). Three clusters of ciguatera poisoning clinical manifestations and public health implications. Med. J. Australia 172, 160-162. 

Lehane L (1999) Ciguatera Fish Poisoning a Review in a Risk-Assessment Framework. Canberra, Australia National Office of Animal and Plant Health, Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. 

Lewis RJ, Chaloupka MY, Gillespie NC, Holmes MJ (1988) An analysis of the human response to ciguatera in Australia. Proc 6th Int Coral Reef Sym Vol 3, pp 67-72. 

This type of poisoning, also called scrapes, is caused by the consumption of reef fish. It is particularly widespread in the tropical zones where corals are abundant (e.g., the West Indies, Tahiti, New Caledonia, Australia) about 20 000 people are affected each year by this intoxication, which is, however, seldom fatal. For a recent review on ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP), see Friedman et al. (2008). 

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