|
Cause:
Ingestion of shellfish with a toxin from the phytoplankton
Alexandrium catenella.
Illness and treatment:
Symptoms begin
minutes or hours after eating contaminated shellfish and may
include numbness of the mouths and limbs. Severe poisoning
progresses rapidly to paralysis and respiratory arrest. Mild
symptoms resolve completely in hours to days. Supportive
care, including mechanical ventilation, may be needed in
severe cases. There is no anti-toxin.
Sources:
Bivalve mollusks such as
clams, oysters, mussels, and geoduck ingest the plankton and
concentrate the toxin. There is no person-to-person spread.
Additional risks:
PSP is only rarely
associated with reddish discoloration of the water, although
the term “red tide” is popularly used. PSP can be present in
dangerous amounts even when the harvest site water looks
clean. Cooking does not destroy the toxin.
Prevention:
Before harvesting shellfish check the Marine Biotoxin
Hotline (1-800-562-5632) or website for updates on affected
sites and site closures, which may not always have signs
posted.
Recent Washington trends:
Two clusters of PSP have been reported during the past 10
years (7 reports in 2000 and 5 in 1998). Both clusters were
associated with mussels gathered recreationally from south
Puget Sound waters.
2008:
No cases were reported.
Purpose of Reporting and
Surveillance
- To identify whether the source of transmission is a
major pubic health concern (e.g., a commercial shellfish
product or recreational harvest area) and to prevent further
transmission from such sources.
- To identify others who shared the exposure and educate
them regarding symptoms of paralytic shellfish poisoning to
facilitate rapid diagnosis.
- When the source is a
risk to only a few individuals (e.g., shellfish harvested
from an area closed to harvesting), to inform those
individuals how they can reduce their risk of future
exposure.
Legal Reporting Requirements
-
Health care
providers: immediately notifiable to local health
jurisdiction.
-
Hospitals:
immediately notifiable to local health jurisdiction.
-
Laboratories:
no requirements for reporting.
-
Local health
jurisdictions: immediately notifiable to the
Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Communicable
Disease Epidemiology Section (CDES) (1-877-539-4344).
Last
update
November 2009 |
