Epidemiology and Toxicology of Ciguatera Poisoning in the Colombian Caribbean
Ciguatera is a food intoxication caused by the consumption of primarily coral fish; these species exist in large numbers in the seas that surround the Colombian territory. The underreported diagnosis of this clinical entity has been widely highlighted due to multiple factors, such as, among others,...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-10-01
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| Series: | Marine Drugs |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/18/10/504 |
| _version_ | 1797552109749534720 |
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| author | Roberto Navarro Quiroz Juan Carlos Herrera-Usuga Laura Maria Osorio-Ospina Katia Margarita Garcia-Pertuz Elkin Navarro Quiroz |
| author_facet | Roberto Navarro Quiroz Juan Carlos Herrera-Usuga Laura Maria Osorio-Ospina Katia Margarita Garcia-Pertuz Elkin Navarro Quiroz |
| author_sort | Roberto Navarro Quiroz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ciguatera is a food intoxication caused by the consumption of primarily coral fish; these species exist in large numbers in the seas that surround the Colombian territory. The underreported diagnosis of this clinical entity has been widely highlighted due to multiple factors, such as, among others, ignorance by the primary care practitioner consulted for this condition as well as clinical similarity to secondary gastroenteric symptoms and common food poisonings of bacterial, parasitic or viral etiology. Eventually, it was found that people affected by ciguatoxins had trips to coastal areas hours before the onset of symptoms. Thanks to multiple studies over the years, it has been possible to identify the relation between toxigenic dinoflagellates and seagrasses, as well as its incorporation into the food chain, starting by fish primarily inhabiting reef ecosystems and culminating in the intake of these by humans. Identifying the epidemiological link, its cardinal symptoms and affected systems, such as gastrointestinal, the peripheral nervous system and, fortunately with a low frequency, the cardiovascular system, leads to a purely clinical diagnostic impression without necessitating further complementary studies; in addition, what would also help fight ciguatera poisoning is performing an adequate treatment of the symptoms right from the start, without underestimating or overlooking any associated complications. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:55:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c86d26909919470d8c1c3e5f961d4d1f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1660-3397 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:55:17Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Marine Drugs |
| spelling | doaj.art-c86d26909919470d8c1c3e5f961d4d1f2023-11-20T15:44:57ZengMDPI AGMarine Drugs1660-33972020-10-01181050410.3390/md18100504Epidemiology and Toxicology of Ciguatera Poisoning in the Colombian CaribbeanRoberto Navarro Quiroz0Juan Carlos Herrera-Usuga1Laura Maria Osorio-Ospina2Katia Margarita Garcia-Pertuz3Elkin Navarro Quiroz4CMCC-Centro de Matemática, Computação e Cognição, Laboratório do Biología Computacional e Bioinformática–LBCB, Universidade Federal do ABC, Sao Paulo 01023, BrazilSchool of Medicine, Universidad de Cartagena, Cartagena 130001, ColombiaSchool of Medicine, Universidad de Cartagena, Cartagena 130001, ColombiaSchool of Medicine, Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla 080001, ColombiaFaculty of Basic and Biomedical Sciences, Universidad Simón Bolívar, Barranquilla 080001, ColombiaCiguatera is a food intoxication caused by the consumption of primarily coral fish; these species exist in large numbers in the seas that surround the Colombian territory. The underreported diagnosis of this clinical entity has been widely highlighted due to multiple factors, such as, among others, ignorance by the primary care practitioner consulted for this condition as well as clinical similarity to secondary gastroenteric symptoms and common food poisonings of bacterial, parasitic or viral etiology. Eventually, it was found that people affected by ciguatoxins had trips to coastal areas hours before the onset of symptoms. Thanks to multiple studies over the years, it has been possible to identify the relation between toxigenic dinoflagellates and seagrasses, as well as its incorporation into the food chain, starting by fish primarily inhabiting reef ecosystems and culminating in the intake of these by humans. Identifying the epidemiological link, its cardinal symptoms and affected systems, such as gastrointestinal, the peripheral nervous system and, fortunately with a low frequency, the cardiovascular system, leads to a purely clinical diagnostic impression without necessitating further complementary studies; in addition, what would also help fight ciguatera poisoning is performing an adequate treatment of the symptoms right from the start, without underestimating or overlooking any associated complications.https://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/18/10/504ciguatoxinsdinoflagellatesintoxicationmannitol |
| spellingShingle | Roberto Navarro Quiroz Juan Carlos Herrera-Usuga Laura Maria Osorio-Ospina Katia Margarita Garcia-Pertuz Elkin Navarro Quiroz Epidemiology and Toxicology of Ciguatera Poisoning in the Colombian Caribbean Marine Drugs ciguatoxins dinoflagellates intoxication mannitol |
| title | Epidemiology and Toxicology of Ciguatera Poisoning in the Colombian Caribbean |
| title_full | Epidemiology and Toxicology of Ciguatera Poisoning in the Colombian Caribbean |
| title_fullStr | Epidemiology and Toxicology of Ciguatera Poisoning in the Colombian Caribbean |
| title_full_unstemmed | Epidemiology and Toxicology of Ciguatera Poisoning in the Colombian Caribbean |
| title_short | Epidemiology and Toxicology of Ciguatera Poisoning in the Colombian Caribbean |
| title_sort | epidemiology and toxicology of ciguatera poisoning in the colombian caribbean |
| topic | ciguatoxins dinoflagellates intoxication mannitol |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/18/10/504 |
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