General Information

Event name: ES-76-001
Country: SPAIN
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): Mytilus galloprovincialis
Report the outcome of a monitoring programme: No
Event occurred before in this location:
Individuals to contact: PAZOS, Yolanda , FERNANDEZ, Margarita

Location & Date

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Location: Latitude: , Longitude:
General location information: ,
HAB Area code(s): ES-08
Additional location information: Galicia
Bloom event dates (yyyy/mm/dd): Event Date:1976-10-01
Start: 1976-10-01, End: 1976-10-31
Quarantine levels dates (yyyy/mm/dd):
Additional date-related information:

Microalgae

Causative organism known: Yes
Causative Species/Genus: Gymnodinium catenatum Graham 1943 ( cells/L)
Co-Ocurring Species/Genus:
Chlorophyll concentration, if known: µg/l
Additional bloom information:
Event-related bibliography: Estrada, M., Sanchez, F.J., Fraga, S., 1984. GYMNODINIUM-CATENATUM GRAHAM IN THE GALICIAN RIAS. Investigacion Pesquera 48(1), 31-40. Donald M. Anderson, John J. Sullivan, Beatriz Reguera, Paralytic shellfish poisoning in northwest Spain: The toxicity of the dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum, Toxicon, Volume 27, Issue 6, 1989, Pages 665-674, ISSN 0041-0101, https://doi.org/10.1016/0041-0101(89)90017-2. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0041010189900172) Abstract: D. M. Anderson, J. J. Sullivan and B. Reguera. Paralytic shellfish poisoning in northwest Spain: the toxicity of the dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum. Toxicon27, 665–674, 1989.—The highly productive mussel fishery in the Rias Bajas region of northwest Spain has experienced several outbreaks of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) beginning in 1976. In this study, similarities in the HPLC analyses of extracts from toxic shellfish, plankton tows and cultured dinoflagellates from the Rias Vigo and Pontevedra clearly indicate that Gymnodinium catenatum Graham is the organism responsible for recent PSP episodes. The toxin profile of the dinoflagellate contains an unusually high proportion of the low potency sulfocarbamoyl toxins (ca. 90–95 mole %), although a major portion of the overall toxicity is due to the more potent saxitoxin that is present at 5–10% of the total. Toxin profiles of shellfish showed approximately the same composition as that of the dinoflagellate, although the shellfish contained several carbamate toxins (GTX I, GTX II, GTX IV and NEO) that were not detected in G. catenatum culture extracts. The shellfish also contained decarbamoyl toxins (dc-GTX II and dc-GTX-III) at approximately 2% of the total profile. Since these were not detected in the dinoflagellate, their presence reflects either chemical or enzymatic conversion within the shellfish.

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
Kit used: Type of kit used:
Additional information: GTX I, GTX II, GTX IV, NEO, dc-GTX II and dc-GTX-III
Economic losses: 63 cases in Spain and 100 in the rest of Europe
Management decision:
Additional harmful effect information:
Created at 11:34 on 27 Feb 2021
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