Can you get pfiesteria from shellfish

The evidence comes from increasingly frequent scenes of dead and rotting fish on beaches; shellfish harvesting quarantines; dead whales, manatees and other marine animals; and a number of other highly visible outcomes. The latest species to join this list of organisms causing HABs is Pfiesteria piscicida , unknown to science seven years ago. Since its discovery in a North Carolina estuary, Pfiesteria and closely related organisms have been reported in Florida, Virginia and Maryland estuaries, and they no doubt occur in many other adjacent states.

Pfiesteria causes harm to humans and to a variety of marine animals, especially fish. Strictly speaking, Pfiesteria is not an alga but belongs to a group of single-celled organisms called dinoflagellates.

It has been included under the umbrella term HAB because it shares many ecological, toxicological and genetic characteristics with other HAB species. The mature stage, shown here, resembles an amoeba. Scientists are in agreement that there are more harmful algal species, more toxins, more fisheries resources impacted, more areas affected and higher economic losses than ever before. The general public and politicians are quick to blame pollution for these increases, as the HAB species are plants that thrive on the nutrients contained in sewage and other pollutants.

In reality, however, only some of the HAB outbreaks can be linked to pollution. The best linkage is probably with Pfiesteria , which is most frequently encountered in polluted waters.

In North Carolina, these are areas downstream from hog farming operations, and in Maryland, downstream from large chicken farms. It should be stressed that the absolute linkage between Pfiesteria and pollution has yet to be established, but the evidence seems quite strong.

It remains unknown why pollution may stimulate blooms of Pfiesteria more than others, but the answer may relate to the fact that this species can take up certain forms of organic nutrients, such as dissolved amino acids, that are found in pollution. Also, Pfiesteria can consume algae that have taken up the simpler, inorganic nutrients it is unable to utilize directly, such as nitrate. In this way, Pfiesteria is both directly and indirectly able to utilize pollutant nutrients.

Many of the other red tide or HAB problems do not have this linkage to pollution, so other mechanisms must be invoked to explain the expansion in bloom incidence. In some cases, the explanations are entirely natural - such as when hurricanes or major storms carry blooms into new areas where species can colonize and recur year after year.

Some HAB species have dormant "cyst" stages that allow them to survive during winter and then germinate to start new blooms at that location.

One example of a natural expansion is the New England red tide, which currently causes shellfish toxicity from Maine to Connecticut. The geographic area impacted by these blooms of the dinoflagellate Alexandrium expanded dramatically in as a result of Hurricane Carrie. In other cases, human activities are involved in the HAB expansion, such as the inadvertent transport of algal species--or their cysts--from one region to another in ballast water. Another factor in the increases is aquaculture development.

State and federal agencies are working closely with local governments and academic institutions to address the problems posed by Pfiesteria. Federal agencies involved in the effort include the U. Geological Survey, and the U. Department of Agriculture. A few fish with lesions or even a few dead fish are not cause for alarm.

If you experience health problems after being exposed to fish, water, or air at the site of a fish kill or suspected toxic Pfiesteria outbreak, contact your physician and your state or local public health agency at once. Several states have set up Pfiesteria hotlines, listed on the following page.

Swimming, boating, and other recreational activities in coastal waters are generally safe. Do not go into or near the water in areas that are closed by the state. Most species of algae are not harmful. Algae are the energy producers at the base of the ocean's food web, upon which all other marine organisms depend.

Scientists call such events "harmful algal blooms. Some harmful algal blooms, like toxic Pfiesteria outbreaks, can cause detrimental effects when the microbes are at low concentrations in the water and cannot be visibly detected. In other cases, like certain red and brown tides, harmful effects occur when the algae reach high concentrations that discolor the water.

Some kinds of algal blooms are harmful because the algae produce one or more toxins that poison fish or shellfish, and can pose human health risks when people come in contact with affected waters. These toxic algal blooms may also kill seabirds and other animals indirectly as the toxins are passed up the food chain.

Certain kinds of these toxic algal blooms can cause human health problems via contaminated seafood, like Ciguatera Fish Poisoning, Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning, and Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning. However, there is no evidence that Pfiesteria-Telated illnesses are associated with eating fish or shellfish.

Most algal blooms are not toxic, but they are still considered harmful if they reduce the amount of light or oxygen in the water, consequently killing sea grasses, fish or other marine life. Pfiesteria is not a virus, fungus, or bacterium. It is not contagious or infectious, and cannot be "caught" like a cold or flu. Any human health problems associated with the microbe stem from its release of toxins into river and estuarine waters.

Preliminary evidence suggests that exposure to Pfiesteria toxins in the air, water, or fish at the site of an outbreak can cause skin irritation as well as short-term memory loss, confusion, and other cognitive impairments in people.

It has been shown that similar human health effects can be caused by exposure to Pfiesteria toxins in a laboratory setting. However, there is no evidence that illnesses related to Pfiesteria are associated with eating fish or shellfish.

This toxin is harmful to fish and shellfish. Although shellfish are safe to eat, do not eat shellfish or fish from areas with a large number of dead or sick fish as a general safety precaution. There could be other organisms that could be causing this to occur, and they could be spread through eating contaminated shellfish and fish. Source: virginia. This content is not guaranteed and results may vary person to person.

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