shellfish poisoning

poisoning /poi·son·ing/ (poiz´ning) the morbid condition produced by a poison.

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blood poisoning  septicemia.

food poisoning  a group of acute illnesses due to ingestion of contaminated food. It may result from allergy; toxemia from foods, such as those inherently poisonous or those contaminated by poisons; foods containing poisons formed by bacteria; or foodborne infections.

heavy metal poisoning  poisoning with any of the heavy metals, particularly antimony, arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, thallium, or zinc.

mushroom poisoning  that due to ingestion of poisonous mushrooms; see Amanita.

nicotine poisoning  poisoning by nicotine, such as in tobacco workers or children who eat cigarettes, marked by stimulation and then depression of the central and autonomic nervous systems, and sometimes death from respiratory paralysis.

salmon poisoning  see Neorickettsia.

sausage poisoning  allantiasis.

scombroid poisoning  epigastric pain, nausea, vomiting, headache, dysphagia, thirst, urticaria, and pruritus, usually lasting for less than 24 hours, caused by the ingestion of a toxic histamine-like substance produced by bacterial action on histidine in fish flesh; occurring when inadequately preserved scombroid fish (tuna, bonito, mackerel, etc.) are eaten.

shellfish poisoning  poisoning from eating bivalve mollusks contaminated with a neurotoxin secreted by protozoa.

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shellfish poisoning

Etymology: AS, scell + fisc

a toxic neurologic condition that results from eating clams, oysters, or mussels that have ingested the toxin-producing protozoa commonly called the red tide. The characteristic symptoms appear within a few minutes and include nausea, lightheadedness, vomiting, and tingling or numbness around the mouth, followed by paralysis of the extremities and, possibly, respiratory paralysis. Saxitoxin, the causative agent, is not destroyed by cooking. However, the severity of the illness is diminished if the water used in cooking is not consumed. See also Gonyaulax catenella, venerupin poisoning.

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shellfish poisoning 

an acute intoxication caused by ingestion of bivalve mollusks contaminated with the neurotoxin (saxitoxin) secreted by certain dinoflagellates, protozoa that are an important component of marine plankton. One form, paralytic shellfish poisoning, is caused by species of Gonyaulax, and is characterized by paresthesias of the mouth, lips, face, and limbs, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea; in rare severe cases muscle weakness or paralysis and respiratory embarrassment and death may occur. A self-limited milder form, neurotoxic shellfish poisoning, not associated with paralysis, is caused by species of Gymnodinium.