Content area
Full text
Seasoned fishermen in tropical areas use a simple test to determine whether a fish is fit for human consumption: if their gums tingle after rubbing fish organs on them, then the fish is not safe to eat. Between 1983 and 1987 the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported over 90 000 cases of food poisoning.' Transmitted either by infectious or toxic agents,3 foodborne illnesses in the US involve seafood in about 11% of cases.2 Among these, ciguatera fish poisoning is the most commonly reported, with the vast majority of cases occurring in Florida and Hawaii.1-3 Worldwide about 25 000 cases are reported annually, with the highest rates occurring in endemic tropical and subtropical areas, including the Caribbean and South Pacific.3
The disease is not limited to endemic areas, however. In October 1997, 17 crew members of a cargo ship docked in Freeport, Texas, developed symptoms of ciguatera fish poisoning after eating a contaminated barracuda caught near the Cay Sal Bank of the Bahamas, an area not usually associated with ciguatera.4 In November 1996, 5 people became ill after eating imported...