General Information

Event name: NZ-12-001
Country: NEW ZEALAND
Nature of the harmful event:
Seafood toxins
Event directly affected:
Humans
Toxicity detected: Yes
Associated syndrome: PSP
Unexplained toxicity:
Species implicated in toxin transmission (transvector): Tuatua
Report the outcome of a monitoring programme: Yes (NZ biotoxin monitoring program)
Event occurred before in this location: Yes (1993)
Individuals to contact: RHODES Lesley

Location & Date

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Location: Latitude: -38.101667, Longitude: 176.741389
General location information: Bay of Plenty, North Island
HAB Area code(s): NZ-03
Additional location information:
Bloom event dates (yyyy/mm/dd): Start: 2012-12-14, End: 2013-01-30
Quarantine levels dates (yyyy/mm/dd):
Additional date-related information:

Microalgae

Causative organism known: Yes
Causative Species/Genus: Alexandrium minutum ( cells/L)
Co-Ocurring Species/Genus:
Chlorophyll concentration, if known: µg/l
Additional bloom information:
Event-related bibliography: MacKenzie, L., Harwood, T., Tonks, A., Robinson, J., & Knight, B. (2013). Seafood safety risks from paralytic shellfish poisoning dinoflagellate blooms in New Zealand: 2012–2013. A report for the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Food Safety. Cawthron Report 2346. Nelson: Cawthron Institute;[cited 2016 Mar 1].

Environmental Conditions

Weather: Turbidity (NTU): Wind direction:
Stratified water: Oxygen content (nL/L): Wind velocity:
Temperature (°C): Oxygen saturation %: Current Direction:
Sechhi disk (m): Salinity: Current Velocity:
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
Paphies subtriangulata Saxitoxins STX eq 31 mg STX eq/kg Other
Kit used: Type of kit used:
Additional information: Lawrence HPLC screen
Economic losses: At least 29 people became ill (14 were hospitalized) despite the fact that a public health warning was in place.
Management decision:
Additional harmful effect information:
Created at 02:53 on 5 Mar 2018
Updated at 03:36 on 4 May 2018
IOC/UNESCO ISSHA
IOC/UNESCO ICES PICES