National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology (Entox), The University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2011 Dec;5(12):e1416. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0001416. Epub 2011 Dec 13.
Ciguatera is a type of fish poisoning that occurs throughout the tropics, particularly in vulnerable island communities such as the developing Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs). After consuming ciguatoxin-contaminated fish, people report a range of acute neurologic, gastrointestinal, and cardiac symptoms, with some experiencing chronic neurologic symptoms lasting weeks to months. Unfortunately, the true extent of illness and its impact on human communities and ecosystem health are still poorly understood.
A questionnaire was emailed to the Health and Fisheries Authorities of the PICTs to quantify the extent of ciguatera. The data were analyzed using t-test, incidence rate ratios, ranked correlation, and regression analysis.
There were 39,677 reported cases from 17 PICTs, with a mean annual incidence of 194 cases per 100,000 people across the region from 1998-2008 compared to the reported annual incidence of 104/100,000 from 1973-1983. There has been a 60% increase in the annual incidence of ciguatera between the two time periods based on PICTs that reported for both time periods. Taking into account under-reporting, in the last 35 years an estimated 500,000 Pacific islanders might have suffered from ciguatera.
This level of incidence exceeds prior ciguatera estimates locally and globally, and raises the status of ciguatera to an acute and chronic illness with major public health significance. To address this significant public health problem, which is expected to increase in parallel with environmental change, well-funded multidisciplinary research teams are needed to translate research advances into practical management solutions.
赤潮毒素中毒是一种发生在热带地区的鱼类中毒，特别是在脆弱的岛屿社区，如发展中太平洋岛国和领土（PICTs）。人们在食用受赤潮毒素污染的鱼类后，会出现一系列急性神经、胃肠道和心脏症状，有些人会出现持续数周至数月的慢性神经症状。不幸的是，这种疾病的真实程度及其对人类社区和生态系统健康的影响仍未被充分了解。
向 PICT 的卫生和渔业当局发送了一份电子邮件问卷，以量化赤潮毒素中毒的程度。使用 t 检验、发病率比、秩相关和回归分析对数据进行了分析。
在 1998 年至 2008 年期间，来自 17 个 PICT 的 39677 例报告病例，该地区每 10 万人的平均年发病率为 194 例，而 1973 年至 1983 年报告的年发病率为 104/100000。基于两个时期都有报告的 PICT，赤潮毒素中毒的年发病率增加了 60%。考虑到漏报情况，在过去 35 年中，估计有 50 万太平洋岛民可能患有赤潮毒素中毒。
这种发病率超过了当地和全球以前的赤潮毒素中毒估计值，使赤潮毒素中毒成为一种具有重大公共卫生意义的急性和慢性疾病。为了解决这一重大公共卫生问题，预计随着环境变化，需要有资金充足的多学科研究团队将研究进展转化为实际的管理解决方案。
