Paralytic shellfish poisoning and palytoxin poisoning in dogs.

BACKGROUND: Fatal cases of exposure to paralytic shellfish toxins and palytoxins have occurred in companion animals but are poorly described. METHODS: We describe one case of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) and three cases of palytoxin poisoning in dogs. RESULTS: Mild PSP occurred following ingestion of crab while walking on a beach. Analysis confirmed the presence of paralytic shellfish toxins, particularly decarbamoyl saxitoxin, in clinical samples and marine organisms. This case occurred shortly after an outbreak of PSP in dogs on the eastern coast of England. Palytoxin poisoning occurred in a dog after it chewed coral removed from an aquarium. Signs included collapse, hypothermia, bloody diarrhoea and respiratory distress. The dog was euthanised due to rapid deterioration and poor prognosis. Palytoxin was not detected in a premortem blood sample. Two other dogs in a separate incident developed only mild signs (fever and respiratory distress) after suspected exposure to aerosolised palytoxin and recovered within a few hours. CONCLUSION: Cases of PSP are episodic and not common in dogs. Cases of palytoxin exposure are reportedly increasing in humans, and there is presumably also an increased risk to pets. There is no specific treatment for PSP or palytoxin poisoning.

Paralytic shellfish poisoning: a case series.

We describe a case series of seven patients presenting to an emergency department with symptoms of paralytic shellfish poisoning. They developed varying degrees of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, ataxia and paresthesias after eating mussels harvested from a beach near their resort. Four patients were admitted to the hospital, one due to increasing respiratory failure requiring endotracheal intubation and the remainder for respiratory monitoring. All patients made a full recovery, most within 24 hours. The ability to recognize and identify paralytic shellfish poisoning and manage its complications are important to providers of emergency medicine.

[Seafood poisonings. Part I. Shellfish and crustacean poisonings]. / Zatrucia zywnoscia pochodzenia morskiego. Czesc I. Zatrucia mieczakami i skorupiakami.

Seafood is a valuable source of nutrients, therefore, it constitutes an important part of diet in some geographical regions. The consumption of some shellfish and crustacean species may be a cause of food poisonings in humans, mainly due to simultaneous ingestion of biotoxins produced by algae, cyanobacteria, and bacteria. These toxins are accumulated in higher links of a food chain, i.e. mollusks and crustaceans, that consume toxins filtering phytoplankton. In the present paper the etiology, pathogenesis, symptomatology and treatment of some shellfish poisonings are presented.

Seafood intoxication by tetrodotoxin: first case in Europe.

BACKGROUND: Tetrodotoxin is considered the most lethal toxin in the marine environment. Prior cases of intoxication previously described correspond to consumption of tetrodotoxin in tropical or subtropical regions of Asia or the Pacific Islands. OBJECTIVES: We present the first European case of tetrodotoxin intoxication in a patient who ingested part of a trumpet shellfish (Charonia sauliae) from the Atlantic Ocean in Southern Europe. CASE REPORT: Our patient suffered general paralysis, including the respiratory muscles, a few minutes after the consumption of a few grams of C. sauliae. Intubation and mechanical ventilation were necessary for 52 h after the intoxication. The corresponding electrophysiologic studies showed complete non-excitability, with no recordable sensory or motor nerve conduction. We detected the presence of tetrodotoxin in the mollusk and the patient's blood and urine by means of high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis technique. A previous bioassay showed extremely high quantities of the toxin in the mollusk. CONCLUSIONS: This case alerts us to the possibility of a very harmful biotoxin in European coastal waters. This now should be included in the differential diagnosis of similar cases in Europe, and we must be vigilant for its possible presence in Europe.