Selected Papers from Canadian Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning Symposium

A special issue of Marine Drugs (ISSN 1660-3397).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2013) | Viewed by 40561

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Environmental Health Services, BC Centre for Disease Control, 655 West 12th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia, V5Z 4R4, Canada

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Guest Editor
Environmental Health Services, BC Centre for Disease Control, 655 West 12th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia, V5Z 4R4, Canada

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Guest Editor
Marine Biodiscovery Centre, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
Interests: marine natural products; structure determination; nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy; mass spectrometry; ocean policy
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Industry, government regulators and public health stakeholders are challenged by emerging issues caused by harmful algal blooms (HABs). In 2011, the Pacific Northwest was challenged with Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP). These HABs led to illnesses in the United States (US) and Canada.

To facilitate a deeper understanding of DSP as an emergent issue, a symposium was held in North Vancouver, British Columbia (BC) Canada on November 27, 2012. Invited speakers addressed a broad spectrum of topics: HABs and human health, government agency programs for risk assessment and regulation, phytoplankton monitoring and research of HABs, outbreak summaries from BC and Washington, in addition to ways in which we can improve and foster communication between stakeholders. More information about these presentations can be found at http://www.bccdc.ca/foodhealth/fish/DSP_Symposium.htm

This special issue is based on presentations and research initiatives presented at the November 2012 DSP symposium. One of the challenges faced by industry is how to predict when HABs may impact harvesting. Tests to assay for DSP (okadaic acid and Dinophysis toxins) are currently done by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in Nova Scotia, located on the east coast of Canada. In one paper, colleagues from the US will describe how two other assays, ELISA and an inhibition assay, compare to LC-MS/MS methods. Other collaborations and potential research initiatives will be explored, and the Canadian outbreak will be described.

Dr. Catherine Elliot
Mr. Lorraine McIntyre
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP)
  • shellfish poisoning
  • human intoxication
  • harmful algal bloom (HAB)
  • inhibition assay
  • ELISA
  • public health

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

529 KiB  
Article
Formation of a Volunteer Harmful Algal Bloom Network in British Columbia, Canada, Following an Outbreak of Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning
by Lorraine McIntyre, David Cassis and Nicola Haigh
Mar. Drugs 2013, 11(11), 4144-4157; https://doi.org/10.3390/md11114144 - 29 Oct 2013
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 7673
Abstract
Evidence for shellfish toxin illness in British Columbia (BC) on the west coast of Canada can be traced back to 1793. For over two hundred years, domestically acquired bivalve shellfish toxin illnesses in BC were solely ascribed to paralytic shellfish poisonings caused by [...] Read more.
Evidence for shellfish toxin illness in British Columbia (BC) on the west coast of Canada can be traced back to 1793. For over two hundred years, domestically acquired bivalve shellfish toxin illnesses in BC were solely ascribed to paralytic shellfish poisonings caused by algal blooms of Alexandrium. This changed in 2011, when BC experienced its first outbreak of diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP). As a result of this outbreak, Canada’s first DSP symposium was held in November, 2012, in North Vancouver, BC. Three of the objectives of the symposium were to provide a forum to educate key stakeholders on this emerging issue, to identify research and surveillance priorities and to create a DSP network. The purpose of this paper is to review what is known about shellfish poisoning in BC and to describe a novel volunteer network that arose following the symposium. The newly formed network was designed for industry shellfish growers to identify harmful algae bloom events, so that they may take actions to mitigate the effects of harmful blooms on shellfish morbidity. The network will also inform public health and regulatory stakeholders of potentially emerging issues in shellfish growing areas. Full article
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1710 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of Passive Samplers as a Monitoring Tool for Early Warning of Dinophysis Toxins in Shellfish
by Gemita Pizarro, Ángeles Moroño, Beatriz Paz, José M. Franco, Yolanda Pazos and Beatriz Reguera
Mar. Drugs 2013, 11(10), 3823-3845; https://doi.org/10.3390/md11103823 - 11 Oct 2013
Cited by 46 | Viewed by 7105
Abstract
From June 2006 to January 2007 passive samplers (solid phase adsorbing toxin tracking, SPATT) were tested as a monitoring tool with weekly monitoring of phytoplankton and toxin content (liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, LC-MS) in picked cells of Dinophysis and plankton concentrates. Successive blooms of [...] Read more.
From June 2006 to January 2007 passive samplers (solid phase adsorbing toxin tracking, SPATT) were tested as a monitoring tool with weekly monitoring of phytoplankton and toxin content (liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, LC-MS) in picked cells of Dinophysis and plankton concentrates. Successive blooms of Dinophysis acuminata, D. acuta and D. caudata in 2006 caused a long mussel harvesting closure (4.5 months) in the Galician Rías (NW Spain) and a record (up to 9246 ng·g resin-week−1) accumulation of toxins in SPATT discs. Best fit of a toxin accumulation model was between toxin accumulation in SPATT and the product of cell densities by a constant value, for each species of Dinophysis, of toxin content (average) in picked cells. Detection of Dinophysis populations provided earlier warning of oncoming diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) outbreaks than the SPATT, which at times overestimated the expected toxin levels in shellfish because: (i) SPATT accumulated toxins did not include biotransformation and depuration loss terms and (ii) accumulation of toxins not available to mussels continued for weeks after Dinophysis cells were undetectable and mussels were toxin-free. SPATT may be a valuable environmental monitoring and research tool for toxin dynamics, in particular in areas with no aquaculture, but does not provide a practical gain for early warning of DSP outbreaks. Full article
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871 KiB  
Article
Screening Tests for the Rapid Detection of Diarrhetic Shellfish Toxins in Washington State
by Bich-Thuy L. Eberhart, Leslie K. Moore, Neil Harrington, Nicolaus G. Adams, Jerry Borchert and Vera L. Trainer
Mar. Drugs 2013, 11(10), 3718-3734; https://doi.org/10.3390/md11103718 - 30 Sep 2013
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 7687
Abstract
The illness of three people due to diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) following their ingestion of recreationally harvested mussels from Sequim Bay State Park in the summer of 2011, resulted in intensified monitoring for diarrhetic shellfish toxins (DSTs) in Washington State. Rapid testing at [...] Read more.
The illness of three people due to diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) following their ingestion of recreationally harvested mussels from Sequim Bay State Park in the summer of 2011, resulted in intensified monitoring for diarrhetic shellfish toxins (DSTs) in Washington State. Rapid testing at remote sites was proposed as a means to provide early warning of DST events in order to protect human health and allow growers to test “pre-harvest” shellfish samples, thereby preventing harvest of toxic product that would later be destroyed or recalled. Tissue homogenates from several shellfish species collected from two sites in Sequim Bay, WA in the summer 2012, as well as other sites throughout Puget Sound, were analyzed using three rapid screening methods: a lateral flow antibody-based test strip (Jellett Rapid Test), an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and a protein phosphatase 2A inhibition assay (PP2A). The results were compared to the standard regulatory method of liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS). The Jellett Rapid Test for DSP gave an unacceptable number of false negatives due to incomplete extraction of DSTs using the manufacturer’s recommended method while the ELISA antibody had low cross-reactivity with dinophysistoxin-1, the major toxin isomer in shellfish from the region. The PP2A test showed the greatest promise as a screening tool for Washington State shellfish harvesters. Full article
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2022 KiB  
Article
Climate Variability and Oceanographic Settings Associated with Interannual Variability in the Initiation of Dinophysis acuminata Blooms
by Patricio A. Díaz, Beatriz Reguera, Manuel Ruiz-Villarreal, Yolanda Pazos, Lourdes Velo-Suárez, Henrick Berger and Marc Sourisseau
Mar. Drugs 2013, 11(8), 2964-2981; https://doi.org/10.3390/md11082964 - 16 Aug 2013
Cited by 45 | Viewed by 8446
Abstract
In 2012, there were exceptional blooms of D. acuminata in early spring in what appeared to be a mesoscale event affecting Western Iberia and the Bay of Biscay. The objective of this work was to identify common climatic patterns to explain the observed [...] Read more.
In 2012, there were exceptional blooms of D. acuminata in early spring in what appeared to be a mesoscale event affecting Western Iberia and the Bay of Biscay. The objective of this work was to identify common climatic patterns to explain the observed anomalies in two important aquaculture sites, the Galician Rías Baixas (NW Spain) and Arcachon Bay (SW France). Here, we examine climate variability through physical-biological couplings, Sea Surface Temperature (SST) anomalies and time of initiation of the upwelling season and its intensity over several decades. In 2012, the mesoscale features common to the two sites were positive anomalies in SST and unusual wind patterns. These led to an atypical predominance of upwelling in winter in the Galician Rías, and increased haline stratification associated with a southward advection of the Gironde plume in Arcachon Bay. Both scenarios promoted an early phytoplankton growth season and increased stability that enhanced D. acuminata growth. Therefore, a common climate anomaly caused exceptional blooms of D. acuminata in two distant regions through different triggering mechanisms. These results increase our capability to predict intense diarrhetic shellfish poisoning outbreaks in the early spring from observations in the preceding winter. Full article
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660 KiB  
Article
Outbreak of Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning Associated with Mussels, British Columbia, Canada
by Marsha Taylor, Lorraine McIntyre, Mark Ritson, Jason Stone, Roni Bronson, Olga Bitzikos, Wade Rourke, Eleni Galanis and Outbreak Investigation Team
Mar. Drugs 2013, 11(5), 1669-1676; https://doi.org/10.3390/md11051669 - 21 May 2013
Cited by 81 | Viewed by 8742
Abstract
In 2011, a Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP) outbreak occurred in British Columbia (BC), Canada that was associated with cooked mussel consumption. This is the first reported DSP outbreak in BC. Investigation of ill individuals, traceback of product and laboratory testing for toxins were [...] Read more.
In 2011, a Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP) outbreak occurred in British Columbia (BC), Canada that was associated with cooked mussel consumption. This is the first reported DSP outbreak in BC. Investigation of ill individuals, traceback of product and laboratory testing for toxins were used in this investigation. Sixty-two illnesses were reported. Public health and food safety investigation identified a common food source and harvest area. Public health and regulatory agencies took actions to recall product and notify the public. Shellfish monitoring program changes were implemented after the outbreak. Improved response and understanding of toxin production will improve management of future DSP outbreaks. Full article
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