General Information

Event name: US-10-001
Country: UNITED STATES
Nature of the harmful event:
Water Discoloration , High Phyto concentration , Seafood toxins
Event directly affected:
Planktonic life , Natural Fish , Shellfish
Toxicity detected: Yes (Approximate range: 40.41 - 421.31 micrograms STX/100 grams sfish)
Associated syndrome: PSP
Unexplained toxicity: No
Species implicated in toxin transmission (transvector): Pyrodinium bahamense
Report the outcome of a monitoring programme: Yes (Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Biotoxin Contingency Program)
Event occurred before in this location: Yes (annually since 2002)
Individuals to contact: SCOTT, Paula

Location & Date

[View larger map]
Location: Latitude: , Longitude:
General location information: Indian River Lagoon System, East Coast Florida
HAB Area code(s): US-15
Additional location information: location range: 28.8655 N - 28.35636 N; 80.8325 W - 80.62861 W. 58 miles north to south; 11 miles west to east; lagoon system
Bloom event dates (yyyy/mm/dd): Event Date:2010-05-11
Start: 2010-05-03, End: 2010-10-26
Quarantine levels dates (yyyy/mm/dd): First detection: 2010-05-11,
Additional date-related information:

Microalgae

Causative organism known: Yes
Causative Species/Genus: Pyrodinium bahamense (596,000 cells/L)
saxitoxin producer
Co-Ocurring Species/Genus: Chaetoceros spp. (>1,000,000 cells/L)
Skeletonema spp. (>1,000,000 cells/L)
Pseudo-nitzschia spp. (5,189,300 cells/L)
Chlorophyll concentration, if known: not measured µg/l
Additional bloom information:
Event-related bibliography: Abbott, G.M., J.H. Landsberg, A.R. Reich, K.A. Steidinger, S. Ketchen, C. Blackmore. 2009. Resource guide for public health response to harmful algal blooms in Florida. Fish and Wildlife Research Institute Technical Report TR-14, viii + 132 pp. Etheridge, S., J. Deeds, S. Hall, K. White, J. Abbott, J. Landsberg, S. Conrad, D. Bodager, G. Jackow. 2006. Detection methods and their limitations: PSP toxins in the southern puffer fish Sphoeroides nephelus responsible for human poisoning events in Florida in 2004. African Journal of Marine Science 28(2): 383-387. Deeds, J.R., J.H. Landsberg, S.M. Etheridge, G.C. Pitcher, S.W. Longan. 2008. Non-traditional vectors for Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning. Marine Drugs 6: 308-348. Deeds, J.r., K.D. White, S.M. Etheridge, J.H. Landsberg. 2008. Concentrations of saxitoxin and tetrodotoxin in three species of puffers from the Indian River Lagoon, Florida, the location for multiple cases of saxitoxin puffer poisoning from 2002 to 2004. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 137: 1317-1326. Landsberg, J.H., S. Hall, J.N. Johannessen, K.D. White, S.M. Conrad, J.P. Abbott, L.J. Flewelling, R.W. Richardson, R.W. Dickey, E.L.E. Jester, S.M. Etheridge, J.R. Deeds, F.M. Van Dolah, T.A. Leighfield, Y. Zou, C.G. Beaudry, R.A. Benner. 2006. Saxitoxin puffer fish poisoning in the United States, with the first report of Pyrodinium bahamanse as the putative toxin source. Environmental Health Perspectives 114(10): 1502-1507.

Environmental Conditions

Weather: Turbidity (NTU): Wind direction:
Stratified water: Yes Oxygen content (nL/L): 2.1-11.2 Wind velocity:
Temperature (°C): 19.1-34.2 Oxygen saturation %: Current Direction:
Sechhi disk (m): Salinity: 19.5-32.0 Current Velocity:
Nutrient information:
Temperature Range During Event: Max: 34.2 °C, Min: 19.1 °C
Salinity Range During Event: Max: 32, Min: 19.5
Bloom location in the water column:
Growth:
In situ
Growth Comments
Additional Environmental information:

Toxin Assay Information

Species containing the toxin Toxin type Toxin details Max. concentration Assay type
Hard clams Saxitoxins 421.30 micrograms Bioassay-Mouse
Kit used: Yes Type of kit used: Jellett Rapid Test for PSP
Additional information: Positive mouse bioassays. Shellfish also tested by HPLC above the regulatory limit with the highest at 262.096 micrograms STX eq./100 grams
Economic losses: Closure of 2 shellfish harvesting zones for 5.5 months. Economic loss of closures not calculated at this point.
Management decision: Shellfish harvesting closures when tested above the regulatory limit. Areas remain closed until two consecutive mouse bioassays, collected at least 7 days apart return with results below 80 micrograms STX/100 grams shellfish.
Additional harmful effect information: Harvesting of pufferfish banned in this area since 2002 (Florida Department of Health)
Updated at 05:23 on 20 Apr 2015
Checked at 05:23 on 20 Apr 2015
IOC/UNESCO ISSHA
IOC/UNESCO ICES PICES