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Algal Blooms and Marine Biotoxins: 1998 Publications

Author: Ochoa, J.I., Sierra-Beltran, A.P., Olaiz-Fernandez, G., and Del Villar-Ponce, L.M.
Title: Should mollusk toxicity in Mexico be considered a public health issue?
Publications: Journal of Shellfish Research 17(5): 1671-1673, 1998.
© National Shellfisheries Association

Notes: As high as 4,000 mu g/100 g of tissue of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning, PSP, toxin has been recorded in one single specimen of Pinna rugosa, obtained from the Gulf of California, Mexico, in the absence of an evident ''red tide'' and with no human poisoning cases on 1993. There is no clue about how the toxin accumulated in such an organism, nor for how long the toxin remained stored. In contrast, the contamination of other mollusks, such as oysters (Ostrea iridescens), mussels (Choromytilus palliopunctatus), and goose barnacle (Pollicipes polinerus), with saxitoxin values as high as 3,500 mu g/100 g of pooled tissue, have provoked at least 500 individuals hospitalized and the death of at least 20 persons in recent years along the Pacific coast of Mexico. Large blooms of toxic Gymnodinium catenatum and Pyrodinium bahamense var. Compressum have been associated with such events, and in lesser extent Alexandrium sp., Dinophysis acuta, and D. acuminata dinoflagellates have also been detected in the water body. On the other hand, the diatoms Nitzchia pseudodelicatissima Hasle, Pseudonitzschia pungens f. Multiseries, and P. australis, have been linked to large ecological loses in the Gulf of California, but as yet their toxin (domoic acid) has not been detected in local shellfish species. Other toxin sources are becoming a serious threat to public health, such as those from cyanobacteria (Trichodesmium sp., Nodularia sp., and Microcystis sp., Anabaena sp., and Aphanizomenion sp.), affecting the aquaculture industry.