About Ciguatera
Ciguatera fish poisoning (or ciguatera) is an illness caused by eating
fish that contain toxins produced by a marine microalgae called
Gambierdiscus toxicus. People who have ciguatera may experience
nausea, vomiting, and neurologic symptoms such as tingling fingers or
toes. They also may find that cold things feel hot and hot things feel
cold. Ciguatera has no cure. Symptoms usually go away in days or weeks
but can last for years. People who have ciguatera can be treated for their
symptoms.
Basic Facts
Fish Identification[opens in new window]
Barracuda, black grouper, blackfin snapper, cubera snapper, dog
snapper, greater amberjack, hogfish, horse-eye jack, king mackerel,
and yellowfin grouper have been known to carry ciguatoxins.
Questions and Answers[external link]
World Health Organization website with answers to questions about
Ciguatera fish poisoning; what it is, how to diagnose, what to do
about it, how to prevent it ...more
Florida Department of Health[external link]
The Florida Aquatic Toxins Program was set up to protect Florida's
citizens and visitors from exposure and illness from Harmful Algal
Blooms ...more
Florida Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Commission[external
link]
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute provides a weekly
summary report of current red tide conditions around Florida
including a map of sampling results and regional status reports ...more
Ciguatera
Fact Sheet[external link]
The US FDA provides information on the nature, diagnosis,
susceptibility, and analytical data on Ciguatera poisoning ...more
National
Environmental Public Health Tracking Program
Ongoing collection, integration, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination
of data on environmental hazards, exposures to those hazards, and health
effects that may be related to the exposures ...more
Radiation
Studies
General radiation facts, public health research, radon research ...more