Harmful Algal Information System: Event US-02-012

General Information

Event name:	US-02-012
Country:	UNITED STATES
Nature of the harmful event:	Seafood toxins
Event directly affected:	Natural Fish , Humans
Toxicity detected:	Yes (Approximate range: In multiple tissues of fish, range below regulatory limit to maximum of more than 6,000 痢 STXeq/100)
Associated syndrome:	OTHER
Unexplained toxicity:	Yes (STX confirmed for the first time in Florida in puffer fish.)
Species implicated in toxin transmission (transvector):	Southern puffer fish (Sphoeroides nephelus).
Report the outcome of a monitoring programme:	No
Event occurred before in this location:	No
Individuals to contact:	LANDSBERG, Jan

Location & Date

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Location:	Latitude: 26.970000, Longitude: -80.080000
General location information:	Indian River Lagoon., Florida, SE USA. HAB Area code(s): US-15
Additional location information:	26.97 - 28.80 摸 80.08 - 80.88 斡.
Bloom event dates (yyyy/mm/dd):
Quarantine levels dates (yyyy/mm/dd):
Additional date-related information:	Quarentine Initial date: April 2002. Final date: ongoing as of September 2002. Puffer fish still remain toxic after PFP incidents starting from January 2002.

Microalgae

Causative organism known:	Yes
Causative Species/Genus:	Pyrodinium bahamense (14,000,000 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:	No	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
Puffer fish	Saxitoxins	STX eq	5,264	Bioassay-Mouse

Kit used: No

Type of kit used:

Additional information:

Kit immunoassay type: ELISA: Ridascreen (R-Biofarm). Confirmed by FDA in mouse bioassay, HPLC and LC-MS: STX, B1, dcSTX. Analysis are made in Pupper fish fillets.

Economic losses:

Management decision:

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission imposed 2 consecutive 90-day bans followed by a 1-year ban on puffer fishing in the Indian River Lagoon. Shellfish and HAB monitoring implemented.

Additional harmful effect information:

Potential risk for PSP - below regulatory STX concentrations confirmed in molluscs. Potential for STX transfer in the food chain and for PSP in shellfish.