Ciguatera Mini Review: 21st Century Environmental Challenges and the Interdisciplinary Research Efforts Rising to Meet Them

Christopher R. Loeffler, Luciana Tartaglione, Miriam Friedemann, Astrid Spielmeyer, Oliver Kappenstein and Dorina Bodi
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Christopher R. Loeffler: National Reference Laboratory of Marine Biotoxins, Department Safety in the Food Chain, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589 Berlin, Germany
Luciana Tartaglione: Department of Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Napoli Federico II, Via D. Montesano 49, 80131 Napoli, Italy
Miriam Friedemann: Department Exposure, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589 Berlin, Germany
Astrid Spielmeyer: National Reference Laboratory of Marine Biotoxins, Department Safety in the Food Chain, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589 Berlin, Germany
Oliver Kappenstein: National Reference Laboratory of Marine Biotoxins, Department Safety in the Food Chain, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589 Berlin, Germany
Dorina Bodi: National Reference Laboratory of Marine Biotoxins, Department Safety in the Food Chain, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589 Berlin, Germany

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 6, 1-27

Abstract: Globally, the livelihoods of over a billion people are affected by changes to marine ecosystems, both structurally and systematically. Resources and ecosystem services, provided by the marine environment, contribute nutrition, income, and health benefits for communities. One threat to these securities is ciguatera poisoning; worldwide, the most commonly reported non-bacterial seafood-related illness. Ciguatera is caused by the consumption of (primarily) finfish contaminated with ciguatoxins, potent neurotoxins produced by benthic single-cell microalgae. When consumed, ciguatoxins are biotransformed and can bioaccumulate throughout the food-web via complex pathways. Ciguatera-derived food insecurity is particularly extreme for small island-nations, where fear of intoxication can lead to fishing restrictions by region, species, or size. Exacerbating these complexities are anthropogenic or natural changes occurring in global marine habitats, e.g., climate change, greenhouse-gas induced physical oceanic changes, overfishing, invasive species, and even the international seafood trade. Here we provide an overview of the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century regarding the many facets of ciguatera, including the complex nature of this illness, the biological/environmental factors affecting the causative organisms, their toxins, vectors, detection methods, human-health oriented responses, and ultimately an outlook towards the future. Ciguatera research efforts face many social and environmental challenges this century. However, several future-oriented goals are within reach, including digital solutions for seafood supply chains, identifying novel compounds and methods with the potential for advanced diagnostics, treatments, and prediction capabilities. The advances described herein provide confidence that the tools are now available to answer many of the remaining questions surrounding ciguatera and therefore protection measures can become more accurate and routine.

Keywords: ciguatera poisoning; Gambierdiscus; fisheries management; ciguatoxin; harmful algae; marine toxins; human health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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