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General Information

Event name: US-02-020
Country: UNITED STATES
Nature of the harmful event:
 Seafood toxins
Event directly affected:
Toxicity detected: Yes (Approximate range: 2,985 µg STXeq /100 g)
Associated syndrome: PSP
Unexplained toxicity: No
Species implicated in toxin transmission (transvector): Blue Mussels, Geoduck Clams, Manila Clams, Pacific Oysters
Report the outcome of a monitoring programme: Yes (WA Dept. of Health, office of Food Safety & Shellfish Programs, Marine Biotoxin Monitoring Program)
Event occurred before in this location: Yes (Most of the inlets of Central Puget Sound have had previous PSP closures.)
Individuals to contact: COX, Frank

Location & Date

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Location: Latitude: , Longitude:
General location information: Pierce, King, Kitsap Counties., Washington.
HAB Area code(s): US-24
Additional location information: Pacific Northwest, Central Puget Sound.
Bloom event dates (yyyy/mm/dd): Start: 2002-07-08, End: 2002-12-31
Quarantine levels dates (yyyy/mm/dd):
Additional date-related information: Both recreational and commercial shellfish closures began in August 2001. The Commercial closures were lifted by the end of December, while some recreational closures continued for all species or for Butter Clam only closures into the new year.

Microalgae

Causative organism known: Yes
Causative Species/Genus: Alexandrium catenella ( cells/L)
Co-Ocurring Species/Genus:
Chlorophyll concentration, if known: µg/l
Additional bloom information:
Event-related bibliography:

Environmental Conditions

Weather: Turbidity (NTU): Wind direction:
Stratified water: Yes Oxygen content (nL/L): Wind velocity:
Temperature (°C): Oxygen saturation %: Current Direction:
Sechhi disk (m): Salinity: Current Velocity: 0
Nutrient information:
Temperature Range During Event: Max: °C, Min: °C
Salinity Range During Event:
Bloom location in the water column:
Growth:
Growth Comments
Additional Environmental information:

Toxin Assay Information

Species containing the toxin Toxin type Toxin details Max. concentration Assay type
Blue mussels Saxitoxins STX eq 2,985 Bioassay-Mouse
Geoduck, Manila Clams, Pacific Oysters Saxitoxins STX eq Bioassay-Mouse
Kit used: No Type of kit used:
Additional information: 2,985 µg STXeq /100 g of shellfish tissue on 10/01/02 in Blue mussels. Blue Mussels were the most toxic specie.
Economic losses: Recreational and commercial shellfish harvest seasons were interrupted, causing an economic loss to the Central Puget Sound Washington communities.
Management decision: DOH closed shellfish harvesting at impacted areas to protect public health.
Additional harmful effect information: